Riku and the Sorceror's Stone
by musicqueen1021
Summary: Kingdom Hearts characters in Harry Potter. Starts out close to the Harry Potter plot, then branches off. Will be epic and awesome and you should read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey everyone! So, this is my first published fanfic ever! In other words, I really need reviews (especially if you want it to get any better). I really liked the idea of a Kingdom Hearts crossover, so here it is! It's very close to the HP books for the first few chapters, but it will branch off after the basic characters and plot are laid out. Disclaimer: I own nothing!!! Enjoy!

Riku and the Sorcerer's Stone:

Chapter 1 – Not So Good Morning

A large motorcycle roared overhead. A great flash of light overcame the sky. Running, running, no place to hide! Oh no! He found me! I-

"Riku! Get your lazy ass out of bed!"

I groaned and sat up. Wow, what a dream! It felt so real! Almost like a memory… My aunt's incessant rattling of the door brought me back to reality.

"Breakfast won't make itself and Pete is hungry!"

I sighed and said, "Coming." I grabbed an oversized sweater and far too baggy jeans and

pulled them on. My Aunt Tifa didn't see any reason to buy me new clothing. After all,

Pete outgrows them faster each time. And not because of his height, if you know what I

mean. My cousin Pete is fat, and I mean fat! You could probably float all the way to the mainland with nothing but his overgrown gut supporting you. Not that you'd ever get close enough to try! But Aunt Tifa refuses to notice this, being quite thin herself, and insists it's just "baby fat." I don't think eleven year olds still have baby fat, but try telling that to my aunt! And if little Petey-Weety misses breakfast, why he'll starve!

As I grumble to myself about my relatives, I open my closet door and head upstairs to make breakfast. That's right, I live in a closet. And not because there aren't enough bedrooms. Pete is so fat he needs two! Well, Uncle Sark says it's for Pete's storage, but I know they're just waiting until Pete gets too big for one room and they have to remodel.

"There you are! Now hurry up! Pete is about to open his presents and I need you to fry the bacon!" my Aunt snapped.

I groaned inwardly. I had forgotten. Today was not just any old day; today was Pete's birthday. A day where he and his friends got to go out all day and celebrate while I was handed off to the batty old neighbor down the street, Mrs. Godmother. Meanwhile, I would be forced to watch Pete open piles upon piles of presents before he stuffed his face with the food that I would be cooking. I stared at the bacon as it sizzled and crackled. If only my parents hadn't died in that car accident. After all, I had survived with barely a scratch- just a scar on my neck that resembled a lightning bolt.

Just then the telephone rang. My aunt strode over to the receiver as Pete complained about having to wait for his mother to get off the phone before opening his presents. Just as he was about to blubber, she got off and came back into the kitchen.

"Sark," she said, "we have a problem."

"Hmm, what's that?" he muttered over the morning's paper.

"Fae broke her leg. One of her pet mice got in the way and she tripped. She can't take Riku."

This got my uncle's attention, as well as Pete's.

"What about my sister Ursula?"

"She wouldn't take him she hates the boy!"

"Err, that friend of yours, what's her face, the blond-"

"On vacation. Went to go see the Coliseum."

At this point Pete was starting to catch on. He prepared his best pout and began whining, "Well he can't come with us, that's for sure! I don't want him ruining my party! If he comes, I'll…I'll…"

Before he could finish his threat, his best friend Iago walked in. Pete immediately stopped sniffling in order to look more impressive. If only he hadn't tripped getting out of his chair…

My aunt sniffed and said, "Well there really isn't any time left. I suppose we'll have to just take him."

At this point my uncle leaned over me and hissed, "Any funny business boy, and you'll be decommissioned for the rest of the year! Understood?"

And that is how I ended up going to the zoo with Pete and Iago. Well, at least it's something better than listening to Mrs. Godmother prattle on about her mice…


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. By popular request, I will be making the chapters longer- it really does seem like a lot more when you're writing it, doesn't it? As for my character choices, I was really hoping to mix it up a bit. I am really proud of a lot of my choices, but there's always room for improvement, so let me know what you think! I'm curious to see where people think I am going with this… although a few of the choices should become apparent very quickly in the next few chapters… In addition, not every character has been officially filled yet, so if there is anyone you would like to see in a certain role, feel free to review and let me know. With that being said, I insert the disclaimer that I own nothing. Enjoy and review!!!

Chapter 2 – In Which Riku Gets Into Extreme Trouble For Uncontrollable Circumstances

The trip to the zoo was pretty uneventful. Pete and Iago spent most of it poking and prodding me, knowing that I would be the one to get in trouble if I fought back. I was always in trouble for one thing or another. Not that my aunt or uncle believed it was ever not my fault… and I didn't blame them. It was pretty hard to explain how I had gotten Pete on top of a palm tree on our vacation to Destiny Islands. The look on his face when he sat on that seagull egg was almost worth the three months I spent locked in my closet. Things like that just seem to happen around me, and there's nothing I can do about it.

We finally got to the zoo and started looking around. Pete and Iago forgot all about me when they learned that the zoo was hosting a special exhibition today in the Heartless house. I knew I was in trouble when they learned that it didn't open until after lunch though. Luckily they were too distracted by the other animals to worry about me. They were fascinated by the ticking crocodile in the lagoon- he apparently swallowed an alarm clock. They soon got distracted by a cute little fawn, and not in a good way. They started pelting it with rocks until a zookeeper had to herd them away from "Bambi."

Fortunately, they weren't thrown out for it and we went for lunch in the zoo's café. Uncle Sark ordered burgers for everyone. I even got to order a sea-salt ice cream when the waitress asked me what I wanted. I didn't give Uncle Sark a chance to interrupt. It was turning out to be a pretty awesome day, all things considered.

And then we got to the Heartless house.

Pete and Iago raced through, passing over the lowly Shadows to look at the rare specimens. I was caught up in the Nocturnes while they darted from exhibit to exhibit, tapping on the glass and making faces. Pete was looking over the special collection of Behemoths they had when Iago pulled him over, saying he had to see the biggest one in the place. I followed from a distance as they walked over to the enclosure.

"Aw man, the stupid thing's asleep!" Pete whined, pounding on the glass.

The thing, whatever it was, didn't even move. They soon got bored of the inactivity and moved over to the Soldiers. I stepped forward to get a closer look.

The thing was enormous! It was hard to make out what its head looked like under it's shoulder, but it certainly was the size of a house! I noticed another disappointed face bang on the glass and walk away.

"Wow, that must suck," I muttered under my breath. "Having people stare at you all day and then when you want a break, they won't leave you alone." I was about to turn away when I saw a flicker of movement. Was that a head? "I bet you're not even really asleep," I continued, noticing its response to my voice, "and you're just pretending so no one will bother you."

At this point, the Heartless sat up and I almost fell over. It had six arms, two of them with something silver and sharp sticking out. The zoo's staff had covered them with something, so they must be dangerous! Its legs were thick and tall, leading to a muscular torso. But the thing that really caught me by surprise was its head: it was shaped like a cobra's!

"Whoa!" I exclaimed. "Now what are you called?"

As if he understood me, the Heartless flicked its head towards a sign on my left. "Kurt Zisa," I read, "native to the Middle East, mainly found in Agrabah. What's it like there?" I asked jokingly.

I watched in astonishment as he flicked his tongue to a spot lower on the sign, which read, "this subject was bred in captivity." There was no possible way this was happening.

"Can you understand me?" I asked, half-joking. I couldn't believe it when he nodded clearly. Unable to think of anything else to say, I said, "I wish I could help you out of there. You barely have enough room to stand!"

Before anything else could happen, I heard a screech in my ear saying: "Pete, Pete, come here! You have to see what Riku is doing!"

Iago's voice shocked me so much that I jumped higher than I ever had. Pete, in a hurry for once to see what all the fuss was about, screamed the girliest scream I have ever heard.

"Come on Pete, its not that scary," Iago teased, turning back. "See? You just tap on the glass and show him who's boss." But when Iago moved to tap the glass, his face turned an awkward shade of crimson. I looked to see his hand had gone far past where the panes of glass should have been. The Kurt Zisa, realizing what had happened, leapt out of the enclosure like a bullet. Scraping off the coverings, he revealed scythe-like extensions from two of his arms. Everyone screamed and began running outside. He leapt through the door, into the air, creating a whirlwind of sand from the nearby elephant pen. Before he vanished in a whitish light, I could have sworn I heard someone say, "Agrabah, here I come! Thanksss kid."

The car ride home was filled with silence from the front of the car, and excited chattering in the back. And then Iago had to open his big fat mouth.

"So what were you saying to that thing, Riku?"

At this point my uncle turned around, slowly turning red.

"Nothing. What are you talking about?" I mumbled, trying to get him to drop the subject. Stupid birdbrain couldn't take the hint.

"I saw you! Just before it escaped you were talking to it!"

I mumbled something about him being mistaken, but the damage was done. My uncle immediately locked me in the closet when we got back. Without food. Well, without food for a few days. I was never locked in the closet for as long as I was left there after the Kurt Zisa mishap. By the time I got out, school was over and summer had begun. A small relief I suppose.

The day I was finally let out of my closet, I went straight for the kitchen. Hey, a guy's gotta eat, especially after being locked in a closet all day with nothing to do but stare at the walls and do pull ups on the clothes rack. I got within two feet of the sink and my nose crinkled up. What the hell was that smell? I peered into the sink to see a mass of something blobby soaking in black water.

My aunt noticed me looking and said, "It's your new school uniform. I'm dyeing some of Pete's things black so you'll match everyone else. Now go get the mail. My hands are covered in dye"

"Uhh… thanks. Sure," I said, unsure of how else to respond. Inwardly, I was writhing with agony. Like they wouldn't pick on me enough already. Although Pete wouldn't be there… only the best in private schools for him! I trudged outside to the mailbox and pulled out the usual assortment of bills and advertisements, and a postcard from Aunt Ursula who was apparently on vacation. But there was something else in the back of the box, something hard and cool to the touch. I pulled out a glass bottle with a cork in it. There was a letter inside with a strange seal on it. It was a large circle with two smaller circles partially connected on the two top corners. Although circles don't actually have corners… what would you call them? Shows how useful geometry was…

As I walked back inside and set the mail on the table, I noticed that the paper inside the bottle had an address on it. Probably from Aunt Ursula. I glanced at it and was astonished to see it had my name on it! And, awkwardly, my entire address, including "closet in the basement." Whoever it was knows where I sleep… I started to panic about my potential stalker and pulled out the cork to get to the letter.

The pop of the cork alerted Pete, who was walking from the bathroom to the television: the extent of his exercise habits. He grabbed the bottle out of my hands and started to reach for the letter.

"Hey, give it back! That's mine!"

He sneered and said, "Yeah right, I bet you stole it. Who would send you anything?"

The exact same question was running through my head; although I was loathe to admit that we had a similar brain function. Before either of us could figure out the answer, my aunt walked in. She saw the bottle in Pete's hands and suddenly went pale.

"S-s-sark! Sark! Come here, quick!"

"Tifa! Are you alright? Everything functioning properly?"

She held up the bottle and pointed to the strange seal.

"Blast it! We told them we wouldn't have any of that nonsense here! Give me that."

He took the letter, and before I could utter a work of protest, threw it in the fire.

"Hey!" I interjected, "That was mine!"

"No it wasn't. Sweepstakes."

"But it had my name on it! And the address! And even my closet!"

"That's enough! It was garbage! Now go to your closet!"

I sullenly moved towards the stairs as Pete waddled back into the living room. His show was back from commercial, so he lost interest. I paused, listening to my aunt and uncle whisper in hushed tones, but I couldn't make out anything they were saying. I went down to my closet, upset that I hadn't gotten anything to eat, but even more upset that I would never know what that letter said. Or at least that's what I thought until the mail came the next day. My uncle smashed three glass bottles, and burned all three of the letters that were inside. The day after that, there were four in the mailbox and one wrapped up in the paper. They met the same fate. I decided that I had to so something about it.

That night, I crept upstairs and over to the front door. Just before I got to the doorknob, I stepped on something soft and squishy. It made an "Arrrrggghhh!" noise, and I jumped, realizing it was my uncle camped out and waiting for the next set of bottles. What could possibly be so important that he would sleep in front of the door to stop me from reading it?

In the morning, my disgruntled uncle gruffly woke me up. He looked extremely uncomfortable, shifting his weight and avoiding my eyes.

Confused, I just stared awkwardly at him until he said; "We're moving you into Pete's second room. Get your things."

I couldn't believe it! A real bedroom? Was this because of the mysterious bottles? I wasn't sure what to make of it, but quickly grabbed my few shirts and ran up the stairs. On my way to the room, I heard Pete whining about how I would touch his stuff and ruin it. My aunt just comforted him and bribed him with candy so he wouldn't pout. Wow, it was more important to have me in the bedroom than make Pete happy? What is going on?!?!

The answer came the next morning when the entire front of the house was lined with glass bottles addressed to Riku in "the corner bedroom." Whoever it was knew that I had moved, and knew I wasn't getting my bottle! I just had to keep hoping that I would find out what it was eventually. Maybe I was inheriting something and they want it for themselves. Or maybe my parents didn't die in a car crash and I was kidnapped and they were trying to find me. Or maybe… I fell asleep with all of these thoughts whirling through my head.

The next day, Uncle Sark was in a good mood. I couldn't figure out why until he smiled at may aunt and wished her a happy, mail-free Independence Day. No bottles in the mail for me. As we sat down to breakfast, I heard a whooshing noise and then a bounce coming from the living room. Everyone paused mid-bite. Suddenly, the noise repeated itself. And then again, and again. My uncle stood up and rushed into the living room, closely followed by me, my aunt, and Pete far behind. The living room was beginning to fill with bottles. I looked around and quickly found the source: the chimney. Without pausing to wonder why the glass bottles weren't breaking, my uncle began grabbing them by the armful, trying to hide them from me. I rushed to get just one, but my aunt caught me and held me back. She's strong for such a skinny woman! Pete just stared stupidly before my uncle ordered him to his room. My aunt carried me up the stairs as I fought to go back down. Unfortunately, she had the bedroom's key on her. I pounded on the locked door to no avail. Damn! What was I going to do?

That night, I heard Pete shouting and wailing in the next room. My aunt was trying to reassure him, but all she was doing was making it worse.

"But I don't want to leave! I'll miss my shows! This is all his fault! Why can't we just send him away!?!?"

As Aunt Tifa continued trying to calm him down, Uncle Sark knocked on my door and told me to make sure to be ready to leave at six the next morning. We were going to outrun the bottles. Or at least try.

...

That's all for now! Review!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update- I've been obnoxiously ill and a lot of stuff has been going on but hopefully we'll get back on schedule. Thanks so much for the comments- I really like some of the ideas I've gotten. Although I have to say, some of the choices were spot on and some were very far off. It will be interesting to hear what everyone thinks when more characters are revealed. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and keep it up! And I still own nothing. At all. Never have, never will. Review!

Chapter 3 - I'm a WHAT!?!?!

Uncle Sark woke everyone up before the sun even rose despite the earlier warning of six. Pete was quiet for once, probably due to lack of sleep. I know I was exhausted! Unfortunately, this didn't continue. As we drove to god knows where, a slight rumbling began. It turned into a growl, and then a roar. Pete's stomach knew it was time to eat, and Pete wasn't shy about letting us know. Uncle Sark was stuck on some imaginary pursuers, making sharp turns, speeding, going through red lights, even illegal u-turns at some points. It's a wonder we didn't get pulled over!

He drove all day, stopping only to grab gas at a rundown old station in the middle of nowhere. As Aunt Tifa came out of the restroom, the attendant came over and asked, "Is there anyone by the name of Riku here? I've got about two dozen letters addressed to a Mr. Riku in a station wagon with your license plate.

Before I could answer, Uncle Sark stuffed me in the car and said, "I'll take them!"

He was in and out in no time, frantically starting the car. Muttering to himself as he drove, he started taking bumpy back roads and detours. Pete began wailing, his stomach unsatisfied by the bag of chips Aunt Tifa had picked up in the gas station for him. It seemed like we were going to drive all night!

Finally, around eleven, we stopped. Not because we wanted to but because we had to. We had reached the ocean. Uncle Sark got out of the car and went up to a sketchy bait shop by the docks.

"Mommy," Pete whimpered, "Is Daddy crazy?"

"No Petey-weety, just a bit… distracted. It'll be all right dear," she said unconvincingly.

Just as she said this, my uncle came out of the shop carrying a set of keys.

"I've found us a place and some food. Come on," he said gruffly.

We all followed him down to the water where my aunt stared in horror at the tiny wooden rowboat my uncle gestured towards.

"Sark, I am not getting in that thing!" she protested, but her spark of anger died when she saw his face.

She climbed in quickly, pulling Pete in after her. I followed as Uncle Sark pushed off from shore. It was very foggy, so none of us could see where we were going. Uncle Sark seemed to be brightening up the farther we got from shore. He even started whistling as the docks disappeared from view. The rest of us were getting more and more nervous. Suddenly, we hit something and my aunt let out a high pitched bloodcurdling scream. Oh wait, never mind. That was Pete.

"All ashore that's going ashore!" my uncle said, cheerful in a creepy way. "Step lightly now!"

We descended onto what was essentially a rocky slab of land. There was basically two trees and a little shack. And then the rain came.

"Quick, let's get inside!" my aunt said. "Pete will catch his death of cold!"

My uncle produced the keys from earlier and we entered the tiny shack. There was a bed, a couch, and a fireplace. The whole building, if you could even call it a building, smelled like mildew and old people. Yum.

"Here we go! All set," my uncle said, pulling out some more chips and a box of snack cakes from his backpack.

We ate quickly and quietly. Uncle Sark tried to light a fire with the empty bags and the box, but it wouldn't start. He shrugged it off and muttered something about how those letters would come in handy now if we had them. He obviously thought that no one would be coming in this hideous weather to the middle of the ocean to give me my letter. And sadly, I agreed with him. As we settled in to sleep, I glanced at my watch and was shocked by the date. July 30. My birthday was in just a few short hours. Not that I expected anything great. I got tweezers for my tenth birthday. Ah well. Time to try to sleep…

I awoke with a start to a loud crash of thunder. Or maybe it was my uncle snoring… Sitting up, I let out a soft moan of distress. Let's just say I don't recommend using a dirt floor as bedding. Glancing at over at Pete's massive form on the couch, I read his digital watch. I saw it was just two minutes until midnight. Until I turn eleven. I figured might as well stay up. Wow was that thunder loud! It almost sounded as if someone was pounding at the door. Ignoring it, I watched the seconds tick by. Almost there! Just three…two…one… SMASH!

The door to the shack fell, revealing a tall figure all in black shadowed in the doorway. Uncle Sark sprang off of the bed, grabbing for his backpack. He pulled out a silver pistol that usually hung over the mantle back home.

"Whoever is there, I have a gun!" he declared.

The hooded figure let out a sarcastic laugh. "Ooh, got a gun have we? Aren't we special. I don't suppose you've got anything to eat? The portal over here took longer than it should have. Oh well. Let's get some light in here," he said, walking over and lighting the fire almost instantly. "Now where's the birthday boy?"

The man stepped into the light and pulled off his hood revealing spiky red hair. Bright green eyes stared into mine as he stepped forward and lifted my chin.

"Man, have you grown! Look at that hair! Definitely your father's. But those eyes… they remind me of your mother's. Now she was a looker… Although you probably don't want to be hearing that! Happy Birthday Riku! I brought you a present… somewhere…"

As he began rummaging in his pockets, he pulled out an odd assortment of items. I stared at the shiny foreign coins, oddly shaped with bright blue and yellow coloring. He pulled out matches, what looked to be like some sort of mushy pet food, some candles, and bits of string and fluff before finally taking out a slightly dented box. He handed it to me and motioned for me to open it. I lifted the lid which revealed a small cake with white icing. A brown line with three stars was on the top next to the words "Happy Birthday Ri"

"I, um, got a bit hungry on the way. That's why your name's short, but what's the harm? Now are you going to stare at it or are you going to eat it?"

I stared at the cake, barely processing what he was saying. I've grown? I look like my parents? He knows my parents? And me? And my birthday? WTF!?!?!?

I finally can't hold it in any longer, so I blurt out, "Who ARE you?"

"The name's Axel. I'm in charge of the grounds at Hollow Bastion."

With that he leaned forward and grabbed a chunk of my untouched cake. Realizing that I was holding food, Pete started to inch towards me.

"Don't eat anything he has!" Aunt Tifa snapped at him.

"Yeah, like I would feed blubber face over there. Come on Riku, eat some cake."

I took a bite finally, savoring the sweet icing and fluffy cake before questioning this Axel character once again.

"I still don't really know who you are," I said.

"Axel. Got it memorized? Like I said I look after things at Hollow Bastion, mostly outside grounds. I, ahem, don't really do well inside the castle. But I'm sure you've heard all about Hollow Bastion…"

"Um… what?" I asked.

All of a sudden his green eyes gained a spark. "What?" He repeated in disbelief as he turned to my uncle. "You never told him about Hollow Bastion? Sark you son of a –"

He glanced at me and cut of the end of his sentence. "Stupid muggle…" He muttered. "Riku, where did you think your parents learned everything? You don't just magically know how to do things, you have to go to school!"

I began shifting uncomfortably before asking, "Learned… what?"

At this point the green in his eyes was almost entirely replaced with red. There were flames in his eyes as he turned back towards my uncle. My uncle went to meet his glare but was unable to hold his gaze when he saw those eyes.

"You're telling me that he knows _nothing _about _anything?_" His voice grew very cold, a stark contrast to his burning eyes.

"Hey, I know lots of things! I got decent grades in school!"

Still addressing my uncle, he said, "He knows nothing about Hollow Bastion or even what he is? What his parents were?"

At this point, I was completely lost. Before I could ask any more, my uncle interjected.

"We stamped it out of him. There will be none of that nonsense under our roof. You may not continue this conversation. Now get out!"

I started to smell singed plastic as Axel strode towards my uncle. He shrank back from the fiery man.

"Stay out of this, Sark. You think you can stamp it out of him? You think it's something that just goes away? We knew he hadn't been getting his letters, but we never imagined anything like this! He's been on the Hollow Bastion list since he was born! And after what he lived through… I mean, he's famous! There's no way he could lose that! You never told him anything!?!?"

"Told me WHAT?" I asked exasperated.

"You're a wizard Riku," he smirked. "And a damn good one I'd bet with some proper training."

I felt like the bottom had dropped out of my stomach. It was really too bad that this cake-bearing person turned out to be mentally unstable. I was so looking forward to something amazing being in that letter and it just turns out that whoever sent it is completely crazy.

As if reading my mind, Axel said, "I know you must think I'm crazy, but think about it. How many times has something completely unexplainable happened to you when you were scared or lonely?"

I thought back to all the little incidents, ending with the snake in the zoo. Maybe there was something different. I mean, my normally sane aunt and uncle looked as if they believed it. And no one wanted to appear more normal than they did. In the midst of this wondering, Axel handed me a bottle. Finally! I opened it quickly, half afraid that someone would stop me. The heading read, "Hollow Bastion School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Headmaster HRM King Mickey." I went to read the rest:

_Dear Mr. Riku,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hollow Bastion School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of all necessary supplies. The first day of school is September first. We await your bottle no later than July the thirty-first._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_HRM Queen Minnie, Deputy Headmistress_

I stared in awe. A queen? A school for magic? This was all too much to take in. Okay Riku, breathe. Just breathe. One step at a time. What does it mean that they are awaiting my bottle?

I turned to Axel and asked aloud the question that came to mind and he said, "Oh yeah… I forgot. The boss wanted me to let him know what was what when I found you."

He turned to his pockets again, this time pulling out some thick paper and a feather quill. He scrawled a letter that looked like it was to this King Mickey character mentioned in the heading. Something about taking me somewhere or other to get my supplies and such. Which meant I'm supposed to go with him? He pulled out a small glass bottle, similar to the one that the letters had been coming in. He placed the letter in the bottle and said aloud "to the Headmaster." He opened the door into the howling wind and out of nowhere a fish jumped out of the water and caught it. I stared in shock as he closed the door and came back to the fire.

"He's not going," my uncle growled, startling me. I had almost forgotten that he was there.

"And who's going to stop me from taking him? A muggle like you? I'd like to see you try," he smirked.

"Umm… What's a muggle," I asked.

"A muggle is a person without magic. And he's the biggest muggle I've ever seen. Except maybe fatty in the corner there," he said, indicating Pete.

"You will not take him, we swore he would never get mixed up in that awful wizard stuff!" my aunt said.

"You KNEW?!?!" I asked incredulously. "You knew I was a wizard and you didn't even bother telling me!?!?!"

"Of course we knew! My silly sister got a letter just like that and went off to that hideous place where she learned all kinds of nonsense. And our parent couldn't even see that she was a freak! And then she went and married that stupid boy and got herself blown up!"

As my aunt stood there enraged, chest heaving, something suddenly dawned on me.

"Blown up? You said they were killed in a car crash!"

"Car crash? A CAR CRASH? As if a car crash could ever take out two such people as his parents? A car crash? When everyone in our world knows his name, he doesn't even know his own past? A goddamn car crash!"

"Then what happened!" I yelled, completely outraged at being kept in the dark for so long. "And why do people know who I am?"

"Well…" Axel softened a bit. "I really shouldn't be the one to tell you, but someone has to. You can't go to Hollow Bastion not knowing your past." He inserted a dirty look towards my aunt and uncle as he said, "now some of it is known, but most of it isn't, so you're just going to have to accept that." I nodded and he continued hesitantly: "About twenty years ago, a very powerful dark wizard began gathering forces. He made terrible things happen to those that opposed him. Terrible things."

I interrupted, eager to get the facts straight. "What was his name."

Axel looked awkwardly at the floor and said, "It's uhh… well we don't really ever say it. Let me write it down." Before he even got his quill out, he stopped and said, "Actually I don't think I could spell it right. His name is… Xemnas."

"Xemnas," I repeated, letting the name roll off my tongue.

"Don't say it! Anyways, You Know Who gathered up his power and was preparing to take over the wizarding world. Those who opposed him died. Horribly. One of the only safe places left was Hollow Bastion. King Mickey is the only one You Know Who was afraid of. Anyways, your parents were just out of school at the time. Top of their classes they were, bright futures ahead with you but a few months old. He came and tried to recruit them. They refused being the good people they were, and he killed them. Just like that." His eyes burned with a silent but deadly flame as he continued: "And then, he went to kill you. No one really knows why, probably just wanted to finish the job. That's where that cut comes from," he said, indicating my neck. "It's the mark of evil sorcery. It's where he cursed you."

"But I'm still alive!" I exclaimed.

"And that's the mystery. You Know Who killed countless witches and wizards, most of them powerful, some the best of the time. But you- he tried to kill you and failed. You were an infant and you beat him. No one has seen him since. Some say he died, but that's a load of bull. Some say he's biding his time, but I don't really believe that either. If he was, then some of the people who came back to our side wouldn't have acted the way they did. As if they were in trances or something. Most of us think he's out there, but powerless."

I tried to take in everything he was saying, but it was all too much. My parents were martyrs and I was a hero? There must be some mistake here. But no, not from the way Axel was looking at me. Could it be?

"That is it! I refuse to allow him to go to some ridiculous school and have some self-proclaimed king teach him magic tricks!"

Axel eyes went completely to flames with that statement. Out of the folds of his robe, he pulled out two very pointy looking objects that definitely made everyone else take a step back,

"Never insult the King. Ever. Especially not in front of me!"

He coldly stepped towards Pete and gave him a single prod with the objects. Pete yelped and grasped his back, then his chest, then his head. He started growing coarse black hair along his entire body, and his ears pointed now. As he yelped and his parent shrieked, Axel dragged me out the door and into a rowboat that didn't look much sturdier than the one that I had arrived in.

"I really shouldn't have lost my temper there… I'm not really supposed to use my powers. I was expelled in my third year at Hollow Bastion. Why don't we keep that our little secret, eh Riku?"

"Yeah, sure!" I said, sure I would never mention the incident to anyone. Who cares if he was expelled, I did not want him turning me into anything!

He began rowing us back to shore, and I drifted to sleep as the waves rocked the boat gently. Funny how fast that storm had disappeared…


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: So, updates... next week I might be a bit swamped- it's that time of year... stupid midterms. Anyways, the week after there will definitely be more. Here's where a few more characters are revealed: that's right! You get to find out who Quirrell is! I liked peoples' ideas for the goblins being Moogles, but I have a better role for them later on. I also took some liberties with the set up of a certain building I am using for Gringotts. But seriously, you never do see what the bottom levels are. Anyways, pretty soon we'll be getting into the fun part where I get to be more creative! Enjoy and review!!!

Chapter 4- Munny munny munny!

I awoke the next morning feeling slightly fuzzy. I had had a very odd dream in which a tall redhead had told me I was a wizard. Weird, right? I turned over and almost fell off of a bench. I sat up and looked around- where was I? I didn't recognize anything at all!

With these thoughts whizzing through my head, I was startled by a voice behind me: "So, you're finally up. Now we can get those school supplies for you."

I whipped my head around to see Axel standing over me, a breakfast sandwich in hand. I gaped at him; it wasn't a dream! I am really somewhere… with a lot of stone with Axel! He handed me the sandwich and I dug in. Halfway through, I realized I was kind of attracting some stares, so I slowed down and ate normally. I began looking around, taking in my surroundings. We were by a dock, lots of people moving around. In the distance I could see stone buildings, but I wasn't quite sure what they were. This must have been where Uncle Sark had stopped for the boat last night.

I turned to Axel and asked, "Where are we?"

"Why, Port Royal of course! And we should be getting on our way if you want to get everything on this list!" he said, waving a piece of paper in the air.

"List?" I inquired.

He handed it to me and I began to read the oddest list of supplies I had ever seen! Robes, wands, spell books, where was I going to get all of these? And then a sinking feeling entered my stomach.

"Axel, I don't have any money. How am I supposed to pay for all of this?"

"With your parents money of course! What, did you think they left you with nothing? They've got plenty in the vaults at The Gizmo Shop!"

"Like, a hobby store?"

"Huh?" Axel gave me a very confused look and slowly shook his head. "Noooo… like the bank. The wizard bank where everyone keeps their money?" he said, speaking slowly and clearly as if I were an idiot.

"What, did you expect me to know that growing up with… with Muggles?"

"Easy, easy. No need to get worked up. I'm sorry, okay? Geez…"

I sighed. My temper got away from me again.

"Sorry Axel, didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah, whatever," he said, apathetically. "Let's just get a move on! We only have today to shop."

"Speaking of which, where in Port Royal is there a store that sells spell books?"

"There isn't a place. Which is why we're going to Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town?" I asked. "I've never heard of it."

Axel grumbled something under his breath about stupid Muggles and said, "Well, you won't find out about it sitting here! Let's go."

With that, he pulled me up and started walking towards the stone structure. I followed him, having to take two steps for every one of his, so I didn't really look around too much. We crossed a bridge into town. Axel knew exactly where he was going. He took so many twists and turns I lost track. He finally came upon a very shabby looking bar and entered. I stood hesitantly outside, unsure of what to do.

He popped his head back out and said, "Aren't you coming? This is The Paupou, one of the most famous spots in the world!"

I didn't say it aloud, but I was definitely not seeing the appeal. Nevertheless, I had no choice but to trust Axel. After all, he had gotten me this far, hadn't he? I stepped into the dimly lit bar, shuffling anxiously close to Axel.

A man popped up from behind the bar and smiled, asking Axel, "The usual?"

"Sorry Will, no time for a drink today unfortunately. Although I could sure use one! I'm on official Hollow Bastion business," he said, gesturing to me.

"Bless my soul, that's not-"

"Oh yes it is," Axel chuckled, clearly enjoying the attention.

"Riku Mikomi? In the flesh?"

At this, a hushed silence fell over the other patrons. They turned and stared at me. My hand unconsciously went to my neck, a nervous habit of mine. Their eyes followed my hand and then it was chaos. Person after person jumped up and came over to me.

"Dr. Finkelstein, sir," a short man in a lab coat said, pumping my arm up and down in the strongest handshake I had ever felt. "It's a pleasure, a true honor to meet you."

Before he could say anymore, a tall stately blond gently pushed him aside and said, "My name is Aurora. It's so nice to meet you in person!" She frantically shook my hand, almost like a fan girl.

More and more people came up to shake my hand. I swear Aurora got in there at least a dozen times. Just as I thought my arm was going to fall off, the last person nervously came up.

"Professor! Nice to see you," Axel said in what was obviously a sarcastic way. "Riku, this is one of your teachers from Hollow Bastion."

A short, rather twitchy young blond came up. The little bit of hair that I could see sticking out from under his black hood was very stiff from hair gel. He reached out his long, bony fingers and limply shook my hand. I felt a slight twinge in my neck when he touched it, and let me tell you, itching my neck while shaking his hand was definitely awkward.

"Ummm…. Hi," he said rather nervously. "I'm D-d-demyx. P-p-professor Demyx."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you sir," I said, trying to stay on this potential teacher's good side. In my experience, having the teacher think well of you definitely made a lot of problems disappear.

He blushed, dropped my hand really fast, and scurried back to his table. He had a single mug and a large black case next to his chair. I couldn't quite see what it was, but it was oddly shaped. Almost like a guitar.

As Axel finally was able to get me out through the back door, I asked, "What does he teach?"

"Who, Demyx? Defense Against the Dark Arts. I trust the King, but he picked a bit of a loser for this term. Demyx is afraid of his own shadow. Weakest excuse for a teacher I've ever seen…"

As I pondered this, we entered a stone alleyway. It was very dark, especially considering it was daylight, and definitely sketchy. I could hold my own in a fight, but this whole wizard this was messing with my perception. Who knew what wizards could actually do? Meanwhile, Axel was no comfort, muttering about a crossword puzzle or something.

"Now, two across and three down? Or is it three across and two down? Oh yeah!"

With that, the weapons from earlier in the shack appeared on his arms. He tapped a particularly small stone in the wall with one of them. They disappeared and then something happened. The wall disappeared too! It shimmered and faded, revealing a large wooden door that Axel proceeded to open.

"Welcome to Traverse Town," he said nonchalantly.

I gaped. I had never seen anything like it! We entered into a sort of town square that had people selling various things from carts. There was a café to my left and another large door to my right. In front of me were a few stairs that led to a multitude of shops. I couldn't believe my eyes! Not because of the size of the town, but the people! A lot of them were dressed in long black robes with silver tassels, but there was much more variety in the older people. Green and purple and silver and blue, all haggling over the price of the oddest assortment of goods!

"100 Munny for the potion, and that's my final offer!"

"You're robbing me blind! I could just as easily walk a few more feet to the next stall and get it for half of that!"

Passing a store window, I heard a group of boys that looked to be about my age exclaiming over something: "Look at it! The new Nimbus 2000!"

I was overwhelmed by the multitude of people and goods. I was grateful that Axel knew where he was going!

"Now let's see…" he said, pulling out a map.

Face palm. I guess he didn't know.

"Oh right! Let's get you some clothes!"

"Ummm… with what money?"

"Just kidding, let's go to the bank and then clothes!"

I sighed. Something told me Axel wasn't quite as responsible as he wanted me to believe.

We went up the stairs and past the stores. There was another large door around a few turns, and we entered that. This side of the door was quite a bit calmer, with larger buildings and a fountain beneath the platform we were on.

Axel gestured to out left and said, "There's where we'll be spending the night."

I looked and saw a decent looking hotel before noticing that Axel had already begun to walk towards it. I scurried and caught up as he continued on and went towards a very large building with a bell hanging above it. We reached the door and just before Axel opened it, he paused.

"I should probably warn you," he said, "The workers here aren't what you'd be used to. They're what Muggles call mythological creatures."

At this, I perked up: "Mythological creatures? Like what?"

"You'll see for yourself," Axel said, steering me through the door.

I was overwhelmed by the vastness of the Gizmo Shop. There were so many bright colors and levers and… the people. I couldn't believe how many creatures there were huddled in the one room. I clung close to Axel, not wanting to get lost among the shuffling crowd. We went up to the nearest switch and Axel pulled it. A platform came down with something on it I had never seen before. It was very short, with two horns sticking up straight out of his head. What really struck me was his bluish color.

"Panic, at your service!"

"Yeah, yeah, we need to go to the Mikomi vault. And I have a letter from the king about the you-know-what he's been keeping here."

The creature looked at the letter and nodded before saying, "If you could just give me your keys, Pain can take you down to the vault," gesturing at a pink little thing with much smaller horns.

"Just follow me!" he said, gesturing towards a corner of the room. Slightly confused, I followed Axel to the space and was in for a shock when Pain said, "Going down!"

With that, he pulled another lever and we were suddenly descending through blackness, hurtling through empty space. Not gonna lie, I might have let out a bit of a scream. Which Axel definitely heard and teased me about. Anyways, I was surprised to discover that we had actually not hurt ourselves and had landed softly on a floor that was quite unlike the one upstairs that looked like a unicorn had vomited a rainbow onto.

"Ha ha, first timer eh?" Pain asked. "I just love the looks on their faces…"

"Me too," said Axel with a little too much enthusiasm. I knew he planned that.

I looked around, noticing the long hall of doors. Pain led us to one and took one of the keys that Axel had given him. He inserted it into the lock and opened the door. I gasped when I looked inside. I didn't really know the value of munny yet, but I knew this had to be a lot! Axel went in with a small orange pouch and filled it with munny. He walked over and handed it to me. I studied it. It had tassels and a star embroidered on it.

"Well, don't just stare at it, put it somewhere safe."

"What?" I asked as Pain handed the key not to Axel, but to me.

"That was your parents' vault. Don't spend it all in one place," he chuckled.

So I had munny…apparently a lot of it. Sweet!!! While I was contemplating my newfound inheritance, Pain began to lead us somewhere else. We walked down the hallway before coming to a dead end. I didn't quite see what he did, but suddenly the hallway continued. We continued walking until we came upon another set of levers. I groaned and Axel smirked at me. Pain ignored both of us and pulled. Suddenly, we were surrounded by water. Panicked, I held my breath. Then it was fire. I flinched, but it didn't burn. I opened my eyes and we were in a new hallway with only one door.

"If anyone but a demon pulled that lever," Pain said, "They wouldn't have made it through that," he said, smiling evilly as he walked over and head butted the door.

The impact opened the door and Axel slipped inside. I glanced in; the vault was enormous! But empty. Wait- no. There was a small, grubby looking package in the corner. Axel grabbed it and tucked it deep in his robes. As he emerged, I looked at him questioningly.

Before I could say anything, he said, "Don't ask. It's for the king."

I sighed and nodded. Great. Another mystery. But all that was taken out of my mind when Pain pulled yet another lever. I felt very odd and tingly, and I shut my eyes this time. When I opened them, we were back in the lobby of the Gizmo Shop. Thank god.

"Alright," Axel said. "Now let's see about getting you some robes!"

With that, I followed him out of the Gizmo Shop and into the glaring sunlight. I was feeling a bit queasy. Maybe being a wizard wouldn't be so great after all… But then I remembered- I am in a wizard town with pockets full of wizard money. Suddenly, things didn't seem so bad anymore. I grinned, following Axel into the next shop. Today was going to be interesting...


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: So... sorry it's been so long. Life is crazy, huh? Anyways, I really appreciate all of the review everyone has been sending. Keep them coming!

Chapter 5 – School Supplies

As Axel and I walked in to the store, I glanced up. The sign overhead read "Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather's Robe Shoppe." The letters seemed to shimmer as I read them, almost as if they were reacting to my gaze. We entered what was a small wooden room of orderly chaos. A few stands with mirrors were up, and one of them had a boy about my age on it. A small, squat woman was helping him. She was in a dress of all blue and was trying to convince him to buy something blue in her hands. Meanwhile, a thinner, older woman dressed in green came up to Axel and me.

"Can I help you boys?" she asked.

"This one here needs robes for school. He's a first year," Axel said.

The lady looked at me up and down before saying, "I've just the thing! Let me go get it!"

As she bustled into the back room, Axel turned to me and said, "I've got a bit of shopping to do around the corner, and I can grab your textbooks while I'm there. Would you mind if I left you for a bit?"

Although I was a bit nervous, the shop wasn't crowded and the ladies seemed nice enough so I answered, "Sure. No problem."

"Excellent. And don't let her convince you to get green ones. You need black, understand?"

I nodded and he exited the shop. Meanwhile, the green lady came back out with, sure enough, a green robe.

"Excuse me," I said, "But I really do need black robes. Dress code and all."

"Oh dear, I must have forgotten! Sorry sweetie, let me go get the black ones."

She left again and I absentmindedly listened in on the boy's conversation.

"This is unacceptable!" the boy said. "When my father hears of the poor service here, he'll have your license revoked!"

The poor flustered lady in blue muttered something and dashed into the back room. Meanwhile, the boy turned to me and appraised my outfit.

"Muggle clothes?" he said. "You're not Muggle-born, are you?"

"My mother was a witch and my dad was a wizard if that's what you mean," I said.

"Oh, alright then. Just had to check. You wouldn't believe how many Muggle-borns are getting accepted these days! It's just awful! I mean, some of them had never even heard of Hollow Bastion before they got their letter!"

Feeling very uncomfortable, I just sort of nodded. Taking this as an invitation, the boy introduced himself.

"The name's Almasy. Seifer Almasy. Who are you?"

Just before I could answer, three women emerged from the back: the two from earlier and an older one dressed in red. She immediately went up and apologized to Seifer. He sneered until the bell signaling someone was entering rang.

"All set, Seifer?" a smooth, oily voice said.

"Yes father. No thanks to them," he said, glaring.

I turned to see a tall man in black robes similar to the ones they were purchasing. He had platinum blond hair and a matching goatee, but something gave me the idea that it was natural. It was cropped very short, and he wore quite a few earrings. Something about him left an unsavory taste in my mouth. He had a slight accent that I couldn't place, and it bothered me a little. He paid quickly and left while the green lady fit me into my robes.

I paid them quickly and stepped outside, eager to breathe the fresh air. I saw Axel coming towards me with an armful of books and a large brown paper bag.

"Happy birthday, Riku!" he said.

"Wow, thanks! You didn't have to get me anything! The cake was enough!"

"Yeah, but I felt bad for squishing it. And then eating most of it. So here: it's useful. It'll help deliver letters for you."

He handed me the bag and I looked inside. I was extremely surprised to find a fish staring back at me. It was yellow and blue and just a bit chubby.

"Just give him a letter and the enchantment that's on him will get it delivered, no problems!"

Fish mail? Okay, now that's just crazy. But I'll humor him.

"Thanks! I'll name him… Flounder!"

"Wow, that's… creative," Axel said dryly. "Now lets get you a wand!"

"A wand?"

"A wizards most important tool is his wand, Riku. Mine was, ahem, snapped when I was expelled. Never mind that now, let's go. Luckily, the very best wand maker of them all is right here in Traverse Town: Geppetto. Everyone gets their wands from Gepetto!"

With that, we went to a nearby shop. The door was painted green with gold stripes and it seemed much smaller than all of the others. But when we walked in, there were shelves and shelves of small, thin boxes.

"Ahh, welcome, welcome!" said a small old man wearing the most awkward pants I had ever seen. "Now then, who have we here?" The instant he looked at me, he took in a sharp breath. "No need to ask that. Well well, Riku Mikomi. Ahh, you look just like your father, Sephiroth. But with your mother's eyes no doubt."

I gasped a bit inwardly. He was the first person in the wizarding world to speak my father's name out loud. It really hurt a lot more than it should have. I thought I was over all of it, but the truth about my parent's death affected me in more ways than I could describe. I sensed my eyes watering just a bit. Not that I would have cried: showing emotion is for sissies. It was probably just the dust or something.

"But let us talk of such things in the right time," he said, noticing my distress. "Today, let us find you a wand!"

With that, he reached into the nearest box and handed me a long, thin stick. He gestured at me to wave it and I did. No sooner had I let it down the second time than he snatched it up and handed me another. This time, something did happen: I broke a vase. He grabbed it out of my hand and tried wand after wand, while I just stood there waving my arms and wondering if this was another of Axel's practical jokes.

Before I could say anything in my exasperation, Geppetto paused and said, "I have an idea. But we'll see."

He went to the very back of the room and reached on the very top shelf to grab a dusty old box. He handed it to me and my arm felt immediately warmer. Yellow sparks shot out of the end of the wand and Axel started clapping.

"Curious, curious," Geppetto said. I looked at him inquisitively and he said, "Mr. Mikomi, I remember every wand I've ever sold. Every single one. I make them all myself, you see. And I use a variety of ingredients. As you've just seen, the wand chooses the wizard. That is your wand. No other will work as well for you, and no one else can use it as well as you can. But you see, that wand contains a very special ingredient. So special, that I have only ever made two wands with that particular bit of hair. And the other wand that had the same ingredient was sold to…to… He Who Must Not Be Named. There is great power in that wand; use it wisely."

With that, I silently paid him and Axel and I left feeling rather awkward. We finished the rest of our shopping in near silence before going to the hotel. I couldn't believe it: the same ingredient that killed my parents was in that box? It almost made me want to snap it right in half. But…I couldn't, could I? That's not what my parents would have wanted. They would have wanted me to go to school and learn everything I could. So that's what I'll do. As I was thinking this, I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, a smiling Axel awakened me. All of the awkwardness from the day before gone, he said: "Wake up sunshine! Time to go to school!"

I sat up and started getting dressed as fast as I could. Today was the day I went to school!

"Now, I have to get back to Hollow Bastion a bit early to help the king with something. Do you think you can find the platform on your own?"

"Sure, I can handle a train station!" I said. "Now, this thing for the king wouldn't have anything to do with that package you picked up yesterday, did it?"

"That's none of your damn business," Axel growled, his smile gone. "Now let's get going!"

"Sheesh. Excuuuuse me!" I said sarcastically, although I did follow him with my newly acquired suitcases out the door.

The trip to the train station took almost no time at all, although I was puzzled as to why we left the wizard town. But whatever. Axel handed me my ticket, gave a lazy salute, and faded into the crowd. I glanced down at my ticket and started when I saw the platform number: nine and three quarters. Okaaaay. Stupid Axel was probably playing a practical joke on me, but I'll play along. I began walking towards platform nine, figuring three quarters is somewhere between nine and ten. Muggle school taught me that much at least.

I arrived at platform nine and looked around in confusion. Axel was definitely not there. The people were bustling all around me, and I didn't know what to do. All of a sudden there was a break in the crowd and I caught a glimpse of a boy carrying something in a very similar container to the one Flounder was in. I couldn't quite see what was in it, but I saw a flash of red before the boy was eclipsed by two identical twins, shoving their way to the front of the group.

"Chip, Dale! Stop that! You know we can't make a fuss here! Too many Muggles around," a soft but firm voice said.

The boys turned and pouted. The owner of the voice stepped forward to admonish them. She was not very tall, but she certainly stood like she was. The first thing I noticed was her hair- there was so much of it! It was contained somehow, but there was way more hair than the average person grows in a lifetime on her head! She was wearing a pale pink dress and practical brown boots. The two boys, whom upon closer examination had the same volume of brown hair, backed down when they saw her glare.

"If you're so eager to go, then go. Just don't make a scene!"

At this point, I surreptitiously stepped forward to see where the boys went. They walked over towards platform ten, going close to the wall. They looked around a bit and suddenly- a woman in a large fur coat walks in front of me. Great. I missed it. But there were at least two more to go. Or three. I couldn't really tell in all of the confusion. I decided there was only one choice if I was going to figure out how it worked: I was going to have to talk to them.

Another boy brushed past me as I approached the woman. I didn't even bother looking. If I had, I probably wouldn't have figured it out anyways. Maybe there's some sort of magic thing, like with Traverse Town, that you had to do. And obviously, I didn't know what it was.

"I took a deep breath and said, "Excuse me ma'am, but I was wondering… um…"

Great. I forgot what I was going to say and now she was looking curiously at me with big green eyes.

She smiled and said, "Oh, are you a first year? Don't know how to get to the train?"

When I nodded, she said, "Oh don't worry, it's Sora's first time too. Why don't you go together and he'll show you. Just walk straight at the wall and don't hesitate. It helps if you close your eyes."

"Th-thank you," I said, surprised by the gentle kindness in her voice after the way she just scolded her sons.

"No problem! Now off you go!"

She stepped aside to reveal the supposed "Sora." He smiled at me and motioned for me to follow him. As we neared the wall, I studied his outfit. Something was just a bit odd about him. He was wearing bright red pants and yellow shoes. I like the color yellow, but somehow on him, it was… weird. Over that he wore a blue, black, and white jacket. And his gloves were absolutely goofy. White with silver accents and the fingers cut off. Lost in thought, I almost didn't notice when he grabbed my hand and pulled me through the wall. I really wish that I had closed my eyes. It was swirling darkness, tiny and yet infinite. Thank goodness he was pulling me through or I would never have made it.

We were in a completely different atmosphere. A large purple and gold train was lined up in front of the platform. Witches and wizards were everywhere, loading their belongings on the train, saying goodbyes, and even just talking. I turned back to my companion and realized I should probably say something.

"Thanks, Sora."

"No big!" The brunette had an awkwardly high voice. Poor guy. "Hey, wanna sit together on the train?"

"Sure," I said, thinking of no reason why not to. We both walked on to the train and found an empty compartment. After we loaded our bags, he excused himself to say goodbye to his mother. I watched with a funny feeling in my heart when he gave her a hug and a kiss and walked back towards the train. Even though I was expecting it, it still startled me when he whipped open the compartment door- that boy had way too much energy!

"So, I never did catch your name," he said.

"Oh, it's Riku. Riku Mikomi."


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone- I know it's been awhile. But don't worry! School is almost over and then I will have plenty of time to write. Anyways, here it is. Review!!!

Chapter 6: The Hollow Bastion Express

"R-riku Mikomi?" Sora stuttered. "The Riku Mikomi? But you're- you're famous!"

I sighed. Is this what going to wizard school would be like? People making a fuss over me because I didn't die as a baby? Great. Just great. Before I could bemoan my fate anymore, Sora's big blue eyes got really wide. What I was not expecting was the verbal onslaught that followed.

"Oh my god! And you're sitting next to me? Do you remember what You-Know-Who looked like? Do you remember the curse? What's it like to be famous? Do you-"

At this point I cut him off by placing my hand over his mouth. Eww! He slobbered on me! But at least he stopped talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise.

"Look Sora, I don't actually remember any of that. In fact, I just found out I was a wizard like two days ago. And how my parents really died."

At the mention of my parents, he calmed down quite a bit.

"Sorry man, I didn't mean to do that. I'm just easily excited. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything," he said, grinning apologetically.

"Well too late for that!" I said. As he looked up at me with puppy dog eyes, I laughed and said, "Come on! I was just kidding!" Changing the subject quickly, I added, "Why don't you tell me about your life since you know all about mine. What's living in a wizard family like?"

"Oh well, it's okay I guess."

"Come on! Do you get to do a lot of magic?"

"Well I don't- I'm underage. But my older brothers Xigbar and Lexaeus do all the time. Xigbar is working on a dragon reserve and Lexaeus works for the Gizmo Shop. Something with security I think."

"Wait," I said, ignoring the part about there being dragons for the time being, "Then who were those other boys at the station?"

"Them? Well, there's WR. His real name is White Rabbit. It was a typo on his birth certificate, it was supposed to be Wright Robin or something. He's kind of a bore. And then there's-"

"Chip!"

I gasped, startled by the sudden interruption.

"And Dale!"

I wondered how the twins had snuck up on us so easily!

"At your service!" they said, bowing together.

"Hey guys," Sora said, "I want you to meet my new friend, Riku. Riku Mikomi."

Suddenly, all of the attention was on me. I gulped. I can now officially say I am not a fan of being appraised.

With a start, Chip (I think) drew back and pointed, saying, "There it is!"

I followed his unusually short finger to the scar on my neck. Without a word, the twins dashed out of the compartment and closed the door.

"Sorry about that," Sora said. "They're a bit, er, odd is all. You know, them being twins…"

"Yeah, sure," I said. "Got any other crazy siblings?"

"Just a younger sister, but she's not even old enough to go to Hollow Bastion yet, so no worries there!"

"Wow, your mom must go insane with all of you to look after!"

"Well, she does her best," Sora said, a bit defensively.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of your family or anything."

"Right. Yeah, it's fine. Don't worry about it," he said.

Suddenly, someone knocked on our compartment door. Before we could even react, a very short boy entered. He was dressed in coattails for some reason, with an odd top hat. His skin had a bit of a greenish tinge to it, as if he were slightly sick.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, but I'm missing my pet toad. Have you seen it?" he asked.

"Sorry, haven't seen a toad," Sora said.

"Oh well, thank you anyways," he said.

Sora and I looked at each other and said, "Well that was weird! Whoa! We totally just said that at the same time!" There was no controlling our laughter after that.

As we calmed down a bit, our compartment door opened again. This time, it wasn't the kid with the toad. Seifer Almasy walked in, with a strong looking guy and a tough looking girl on each side. The girl closed the door behind them.

"We heard Riku Mikomi was in here," Seifer said. Looking at Sora, he remarked, "Well it's definitely not you. With clothes like that, you must be a Strife kid." Ignoring the scathing glare Sora gave him, he turned to me and said, "That leaves you. Oh wait, I know you! We met in that poor excuse for a robe shop. Are you really Riku Mikomi?"

"Yeah, that's me," I muttered. Something was wrong with this kid. I didn't know what, but he was giving me the creeps.

"Well Riku, I don't know what they've been teaching you in that Muggle house, but here in the wizarding world, you'll find that some families are… better than others." At this point, he looked down his nose at Sora, who looked like he badly wanted to punch Seifer in the nose. "And you wouldn't want to be seen with the wrong crowd now, would you? Why don't you come sit with us? This is Fu," he said, pointing to the girl, "And Rai." He indicated the boy.

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure I can figure out for myself who I want to hang out with." I returned, coldly.

Seifer's mask of friendliness vanished: "Well, if that's how it's going to be…"

Before anything else could happen, the door opened abruptly again, slamming Rai in the back. As Sora and I laughed under our breaths, a brunette girl entered the compartment.

"Sorry to bother you, but Jiminy has lost his toad. Has anyone seen it?"

Seifer sneered at her and left the compartment, Fu and Rai in tow. Rai was holding his nose very tightly. Meanwhile, I looked back at the girl. Damn. That skirt was short! I could see Sora noticing her top immediately too. She cleared her throat rather loudly and we both looked up at her face. Which was definitely glaring at us.

"Uhhh… no. No toads here," Sora said.

"Fine then," she said, and left us alone again.

"Well, at least Seifer left," I said. "That kid is an ass."

Sora relaxed again and agreed with me. "His father is high up in the government. I don't really know what he does, but he gets paid a lot and Seifer lords it around."

"What did he mean about your family?" I asked.

Sora's ears turned red. "Well," he started, "My dad works for the government too. In Muggle affairs. He loves his job, so he refuses his promotions. Seifer's family, and a lot of others, thinks he's just stupid. He doesn't make as much, so I get my brother's hand me downs."

"Wow, that… sucks." I said.

"Yeah. But we deal."

"Look," I said, sensing the brunette's embarrassment, "it's… cool that you told me that. Thanks."

Sora brightened up a bit at this.

"So," I started, "What happens when we get to Hollow Bastion?"

"Well, we get sorted into our houses somehow. Chip and Dale wouldn't tell me how, but they hinted something about a massive heartless, so I'm kind of nervous."

"Uhhh… houses? And heartless?" I asked, starting to get a bit nervous myself.

"Yeah. But don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure no one's ever died from being sorted."

"Gee, now I feel loads better."

"Let me tell you about the houses," he said. "It'll take your mind off things. There are four houses, each named for one of the founders of the school. I want to be in Simba. Everyone in my family has been in Simba. Then there's Pooh, which is kind of a joke. There's Merlin, which is basically all the brains. And then there's Shan Yu." He gave a little shudder after that last one.

"What?" I asked.

"There was never an evil witch or wizard who went to Hollow Bastion who wasn't in Shan Yu. Even You-Know-Who was in Shan Yu."

"Xemnas went to Hollow Bastion?"

"YOU SAID HIS NAME!!!!!"

"Ahhh! Sorry! I forgot!"

"Wow. That's amazing!"

"No it's not! It just shows how much I'm not going to fit in! I don't know how to act or what to say or-"

Sora stared at me. I realized I was rambling.

"Sorry," I said.

He continued staring. It was getting kind of creepy.

"What?" I finally asked.

"I guess being famous doesn't solve all of your problems after all," he said.

"You're telling me," I replied.

A whistle sounded, making both of us jump.

"We're here," he said.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everyone! We finally get to Hollow Bastion- yay! And the sorting ceremony! sEnjoy and review!

Chapter 7: Hollow Bastion

Sora stood up to open the door when he tripped over one of his bags. He rubbed his head sheepishly and gave me an apologetic smile. As he glanced at the bag, his look of embarrassment changed to one of horror.

"Uhh… we forgot to change!"

"Huh?"

"Our robes! We forgot to change into them!"

"We were supposed to change?" Damn, not knowing things could really suck sometimes.

"Yeah, but we can make it!"

Just as Sora said that, a soft voice came over the loudspeaker saying: "Please exit the train in an orderly fashion."

"Gah!" we exclaimed in unison.

He reached for his bag and I reached for my suitcase. We frantically took off our clothes, throwing them all over the compartment in our frenzy. I rummaged through my suitcase, finally finding my clothes tucked in all the way at the bottom. I struggled to dress while repacking. Sora was having worse luck than I was. Even though I had to go through an entire suitcase, he had managed to get one of the sleeves knotted around his head, pushing down his spiky hair.

"Ri-Riku!" he pleaded, "I'm STUCK!"

"I can see that. Hold still," I answered as calmly as I could.

Suddenly, our compartment door slid open with a thud quickly followed by a gasp. Sora and I froze. Our heads turned to see the cute girl from earlier. He mouth was dropped in shock. As she took in everything, I started to realize what this must look like: our clothes all over the seats, both of us pretty much naked and frantically dressing, me touching Sora… oh shit.

The girl seemed to overcome her shock just as I figured this out. Her face turned a shade of red brighter than… than Sora's fricken clown pants. Seriously, how does anyone even find pants like that?

The girl interrupted my musings with a frantic speech: "I'm so so sorry! I didn't mean to intrude! I was just trying to find Jiminy's toad one last time and I thought everyone had left and no one would be in here anymore and I sure wasn't expecting to find- not that there's anything wrong with that! I support your choices! Uh, uh, gotta go!" With that, she ducked out of the compartment and slammed the door.

Sora and I remained frozen for what seemed like eternity until he turned to me and asked, "What the hell was that all about?"

"She thinks we're gay."

Sora's quizzical expression went from confused to horrified.

"No no no!" he cried. "I'm not gaaaaaay! And she was preeetyyyyyy!"

Trying to stop the sudden wail, I said, "Shouldn't we really be getting dressed now? I got the knot."

"Oh yeah!" Sora said, suddenly refocusing completely. I swear this kid must have ADD or something. "Let's go!"

Quickly dressing, we grabbed our things and rushed off of the train. In all of the confusion, I had almost forgotten where we were. I looked around, excited to see my first look at Hollow Bastion. But all I could see was a waterfall and some fog. Lots of fog.

"All right newbies over here," a familiar voice called. "Come on, don't be shy about it, let's get you all together, step right up. Oh, hey Riku. Have a good trip?"

"It was fine, Axel. What's going on?"

"The older kids are getting transported straight to the castle through the elevator system. The first years, on the other hand, need to get all lined up for the sorting. So I'm in charge of getting you all to the castle at the same time. So let's get a move on!" he said, that last bit mainly to the crowd. "Everyone get on this platform," he demanded, indicating a large slab of gray rock with a strange pattern on the floor.

"There's no way we can all fit on that!" a random voice said from somewhere in the mix.

"Um, hello, you're witches and wizards. It's a magic platform. You'll be fine, now go."

We all gathered on the platform, which was surprisingly comfortable despite random complainer number one's misgivings. I'm surprised Axel didn't kick him or something for suggesting that he didn't know what he was doing. Good thing no one knows who said it! Although the voice did sound a bit like Seifer… but who cares about him. He's not worth my time.

In my musings, I almost didn't notice how we were being transported. In fact, I probably wouldn't have noticed if the entire group hadn't gasped. I looked up and let out a gasp of my own. We were completely encased in individual bubbles that were taking us under the water. It was amazing! I could see little rocks and what looked like treasure chests under the water. I thought I saw a face peering at us through some seaweed, but that must have been my imagination. We soon emerged from the water and were gently deposited on the steps of the castle.

I looked around in amazement. The castle was huge! I couldn't even see all of it from where I was standing. There were different mixes of copper piping, light tan stone, and a golden emblem on the side that I couldn't quite see from where I was standing. Glancing at the people around me, I was glad to see that I was not the only one who was awestruck. But the reverence was soon shattered by none other than Axel. Of course.

"Alright, here's what's going down. Queen Minnie is about to come lead you in to the Great Hall. She's going to call your names in no particular order, and then you're going to go up and get sorted."

"But how are we sorted?" someone asked.

"Well-" but before Axel could finish, the doors behind him opened. "Well I guess you're about to find out! Here you go, Your Majesty."

A very poised woman walked through the door. She was wearing a much dressier version of the robes we all had on. In fact, it was almost a different outfit on her. It resembled a hoop skirt with ribbons on the side. Something was slightly off about her ears, but that didn't really matter to me at the moment. All that mattered was the sorting right now.

"This way, please," she said in a very soft, sweet voice.

We followed her silently now. All chatter had been silenced once the doors had opened. Everyone was wondering how we would be sorted. I was hoping we didn't need to know any magic- how was I supposed to know magic? I glanced over at Sora to see how he was reacting. He seemed nonchalant- oh wait. Nope, that was just a blank expression covering the obvious panic attack he was having. Great.

I barely noticed the ornate architecture I was passing. I'm sure the castle was beautiful, but I had other things to focus on. One thing I could not ignore however was the Great Hall. Queen Minnie opened the doors to reveal a huge room filled with all of the other students seated at long tables. There were banners displaying what I could only assume were the house mascots and colors. There were a lot of people. A lot. I began fidgeting. I don't do well in crowds.

Queen Minnie stepped over to a raised dais that had a single table on it. I assumed that the people sitting along it were our teachers. Wow, what a bunch! Axel took a seat on the end and greeted a pink haired woman… or was it a man? I couldn't quite tell. Next to him… or her, was another woman in hoopskirts like the queen. Her dress was much simpler though. She had very keen eyes and dark brown hair that was swept back in a messy sort of updo. She had a pair of glasses around her neck. Before I had a chance to look at any of the others, Queen Minnie had stepped up to the podium at the front of the dais and was joined by a man with similar ear issues.

"Hello everyone," the man said, "for those of you who don't know," he said, glancing towards the new kids, "I'm King Mickey. Welcome first years! Lets begin the sorting!"

Cheers rang out through the Great Hall as a cloaked figure walked in, carrying what looked like a giant key. It was silver with a gold handle. A silver keychain with three circles, one large and two small on the top, was attached. Was it a water molecule or something? Wait- stupid chemistry. So not the time to have flashbacks. Especially because the queen had started talking again. And I had missed most of what she was saying. Great.

"So all you have to do is stand here and hold on to the keyblade. Based on what form it chooses, you will be placed in one of the four houses I just explained. Let's begin. Piglet."

As she called the first name, a very timid boy with a pink face stepped forward. He slowly made his way to the queen and grasped the key. There was a flash of light, and the keyblade had completely changed in his hand. The handle had become red with a splash of gold at the bottom, and the main body had become wooden. Instead of teeth, the key had a beehive on the end of it. The keychain which was not a water molecule had changed to a bee.

"Pooh!" she said.

A great cheer went up from a table under a brown banner with a golden bear on it. Piglet went to go sit down as Minnie called another name: "Almasay"

Seifer strode up and confidently grasped the keyblade. It instantly changed to a jet black form with just a touch of white around the handle. There were bits of purple and silver in it too. There was no keychain on this blade, but the teeth looked ornate enough on their own, like a Japanese character or something.

"Shan Yu."

Those under a black and purple banner with a dragon blazoned across it greeted Seifer. He was soon joined by Rai and Fu. The looked very satisfied with themselves. I hoped to God I didn't get put over with them.

"Strife, Sora."

Sora stood up and somehow managed to walk all the way over without tripping. He grabbed the handle, hands slightly shaking. The keyblade was nowhere near as uncertain as he was- it instantly took a long, sleek silver shape. Both the very end of the key and the keychain were identical: a snarling lion. The handle was a dark gray. Sora's eyes lit up; he at least had figured out what this meant.

"Simba."

A loud commotion came from the table under the silver and red banner that featured a lion. It was Chip and Dale, obviously meaning to embarrass their brother. Sora's face turned red, but he grinned through it. I smiled at him and he mouthed, "Good luck!" back at me.

Paying attention to Sora made me miss the next name. A pretty girl went up and was the first Merlin to be accepted. The keyblade had taken a streamlined blue form with a green book as the keychain. The bottom portion was rounded out with a small moon and star engraved on the bottom. I wondered which house I would be in as the girl wandered over to the table with the blue and green banner with a raven on it.

"Mikomi."

A hush fell over the hall that had been so animated moments before. And then the whispers began.

"Mikomi? As in Riku Mikomi?"

"He's here? The one who defeated You Know Who?"

"Which one is he?"

"Look there! There he is!"

This last one came as I stepped out of the group of first years and flicked my hair out of my eyes. Great. I nodded to the queen and grabbed the handle. Let's just get this over with and pray that I won't get Shan Yu.

"Not Shan Yu? But you would do well there."

I gasped. The keyblade had started to transform, but it was whirling between forms. It had a shaky outline of a red wing with a black handle. This had happened to a few of the people, but it hadn't taken a different form and I'm pretty sure none of them heard the voice. But I couldn't be in Shan Yu! No way!

"Well, if you're so certain."

The keyblade solidified as the same silver one that Sora had held.

"Simba."

The cheers that went up for me from the Simbas were unearthly loud. I took a seat next to Sora and he smiled at me. I was so uncomfortable from the looks that the rest of the hall kept sending my way that I couldn't really focus on the sorting. I did notice that the girl who had walked in on Sora and me was named Kairi and she got into Simba too. And that Jiminy kid.

When the last person was sorted, King Mickey stood up and said, "Let's eat!"

Magically, food appeared on huge platters in front of us. Sora and I exchanged looks of awe, and then dug in, eating like the starving boys we were. We shoveled down piles of food, much to the disgust of the girls on the other side of the table.

Om nom nom nom…

*for those of you who don't know and are too lazy to look it up (I would be too), the keyblades were: Sweet Memories, the Oblivion, the Sleeping Lion, and the Spellbinder*


	8. Chapter 8

Hello once again everyone! Sorry it's been awhile… I feel like I write that on every chapter. In the last chapter, I did make a rather vague, obscure reference to a character that really isn't focused on in the game, but once her name is announced you'll figure it out. Sorry about that! And now… introductions! Enjoy!

Chapter 8: First Night

As Sora and I finally reached our limits, the food disappeared from the platters on the table and the king stood up again.

"I hope you all enjoyed the feast. Now, on to business. First, I'd like to introduce the staff for this coming year." He turned and started on the far end of the table. "This is Axel, our groundskeeper," he said, pausing for applause between each name. "Next to him is our Herbology professor, Marluxia. Then we have Miss Jane Porter, our librarian. Our newest teacher, Demyx, will be taking the Defense Against the Dark Arts post."

I looked up closer at the mention of Demyx's name. Yup, still quivering like a Chihuahua in need of a bathroom break. He was almost on top of Miss Porter, like he was avoiding the person on his left or something. I squinted, trying to see who it was. His silver hair fell over half of his face in a messy yet styled look. I couldn't quite see his eyes… wait… he's turning… HOLY CRAP OW OW OW OW OW!

Sora turned and looked at me with a quizzical expression on his face: "Umm… Riku? Are you okay? You just got really pale and started swearing in whispers…"

I grimaced. At least it was whispered.

"Yeah…My scar just started throbbing for some reason. No big deal," I said, shrugging it off.

Luckily, Sora accepted it with a shrug and turned back to the king. I needed to hear the name of the man who's piercing eyes had ignited the scar on my neck.

"Zexion, our potions master."

Zexion. Why did that name bring so much pain? It felt like someone was holding a branding iron to my neck while simultaneously crushing my windpipe. Rather unpleasant, if I do say so myself. I zoned out for a moment, studying Zexion. Suddenly, Sora let out the biggest belch I had ever heard, causing the girls across from us to fervently wish they had sat somewhere else for the umpteenth time that evening. Jolted back into reality, I realized I had missed almost the rest of the teachers. Great. I won't have any idea who they are if I have them. Oh well, nothing to do about it now…

"Selphie, our Charms teacher, and our lovely nurse, Miss Wendy Darling, and finally, Hades, the school's… caretaker. I believe he has a list of forbidden items that he wants me to read to you." At a nod from the creepy looking man, the king started listing: "No magic in the halls, no one can enter the Deep Jungle area next to the castle…"

I zoned out again. I tried to pay attention, but seriously, all I could think about was this guy's voice. I mean, I get that he's supposed to be all great and powerful and wonderful, but can't magic get rid of that squeakiness?

"And finally, the third floor hallway on the east side of the castle is strictly forbidden to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death. First years, follow your prefects to your common rooms where you will receive your room assignments and schedule for classes. Have a good night, students!"

Did no one else think that "painful death" comment was odd? Was he joking? He looked pretty serious… Before I could ponder this any more, there was a short brunette demanding my attention. And unfortunately, it wasn't the girl from before…

"Hey Riku," Sora said, "Do you want to room together? They'll let us switch if we want to."

"Yeah, sure," I said. At least I have one friend here.

His eyes got all big and round and shiny. It was when he started jumping up and down while squealing that I started to wonder if maybe I shouldn't have said yes…

"Simba first years, this way!" a familiar voice said.

"Hey Sora, isn't that your brother?"

"Yeah," Sora said, calming down a bit, "He's a prefect," he proclaimed, disgusted. "Dweeb."

"Dweeb? Who even says that anymore?"

"I do! Cause WR is one!"

"Whatever," I chuckled, "Let's go."

We followed WR and the other first years up a hell of a lot of stairs. And moving platforms. And water. Seriously, how big is this place? Finally, we stopped. I looked around- where was the common room? This was just a dead end with a whole bunch of portraits on the walls. Instead of acting like he made a mistake, WR walked right up to the portrait at the end of the hall. There were three fairies, but they didn't look like fairies in the storybooks I used to page through when I was little. One was blond and dressed in bright yellow with a red scarf. The second had dark hair and a white outfit. The third had even darker hair with a black skull themed outfit.

"Password," the blond one asked with a giggle, much to my surprise. I wasn't expecting it to talk, but then again, I wasn't expecting them to move either.

"Yuna, Rikku, and Paine," WR said.

"Pleased to meet you," they said in unison and collapsed into giggles.

WR turned to us and said, "That is the password for tonight only. It is also the names of these three. I'll tell you all the new password once we're inside the common room."

The portrait of the fairies swung open to reveal a doorway. We had to step up in single file to enter. But once we did… wow. The room was decorated in the silver and red of Simba. Like, completely. And if I was amazed, you can only imagine what Sora was… I didn't know his eyes could get any bigger.

"So… sh-sh-SHINY!"

I now knew that I had made a mistake in my roommate. Something was telling me that he wasn't one for sleeping. Ever. And I needed some sleep! I let Sora figure out the details as I nursed my newly sprung headache. I think it was related to my scar or something. I definitely had to watch out for that teacher…

"RIKU! Come on come on COME ON!"

"What the-" I barely had time to react as Sora grabbed my arm and dragged me up a staircase.

"Come on! We have to meet our roommates!"

He came to a halt in front of door number 218. In fact, he stopped so well, that I continued down the hall, flung by his insane amount of force.

"What are you doing, Riku?" Sora asked, looking down at my crumpled up form.

"Hurting. Badly. Why are you so hyper?"

"Probably the delicious dessert! I'M ON A SUGAR HIGH!"

"Note to self, never give Sora sugar."

"Aw, you sound just like my mom. Let's go, the others are already inside."

We opened the door and saw two blond boys in the midst of a heated argument.

"But I need to sleep by the window- I just can't get to sleep without a window!" the boy in blue shorts… or were they pants… said.

"Well tough. I was here first." This speaker was dressed in black and camo with white shoes and gelled hair. Aka the tough guy look.

"But, but… I'll fight you for it! Come on!"

"Yeah right," tough guy said. "I already have it, why fight?"

At this point he turned and noticed Sora and me. Blue short-pants guy turned and followed his look. His pout of outrage turned to a sheepish grin.

"Hey guys…"

Sora, completely ignoring the awkwardness (or just not noticing…), jumped right in, saying: "Hi! I'm Sora. And this is Riku. We're your new roomies!"

"Uhhh… hi. The name is Hayner," the tough guy said.

"And I'm Tidus!" said confusing bottoms guy. I finally got a frontal view, and his pants/shorts had one leg long and one leg short. Don't ask me why, that's just what he was wearing.

Speaking up for the first time, I said, "You guys know that there are two windows in here, right?"

They both looked dumbfounded, having obviously not noticed. Great. This room was going to be… interesting. Tidus ashamedly walked over to the other bed, leaving Sora and I the two beds on the inside wall. I started unpacking my suitcase as Sora investigated his new bed.

"I'm not tired at all!" Sora said, jumping up and down on his bed. "In fact, I could stay up all-"

The sudden silence worried me. I turned and saw a rather welcome sight. Sora had fallen asleep mid-jump. He was outstretched on the bed, a bit of drool already hanging from his mouth. And then the snore. I knew he could never be quiet- even in his sleep! I sighed and closed my suitcase. This was going to be a long night.

As I sat with my head in my hands, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Tidus. He handed me a pair of earplugs with a wink.

"My mom prepared me for anything!" he whispered.

I smiled gratefully and took the earplugs. Ahh, sweet silence. Time to get some rest before class tomorrow. I hadn't even looked at my schedule yet, but there would be plenty of time tomorrow morning…


	9. Chapter 9

Yay! We know who people are! And now I can have some real fun with the characters, especially Sora! I have gotten lots of reviews about how awesome he is and I have to say, he is slightly based on a real person… you know who you are Strausberg's Waltz. Anyways, here is the next installment of awesomeness where I get to be creative! Enjoy and keep those reviews coming!

Chapter 9: Wait- We Have To Do Homework Even Though We Have Magical Powers?

"WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY!"

"What the-" I exclaimed in startled amazement. A very heavy blur was bouncing on my stomach. "Ow ow ow OW! Sora get off!"

"Well I tried to wake you up nicely, but you were too busy muttering in your sleep. Come on! If you don't get up now, there won't be any time to eat before our first class!"

Now that woke me up. Class! I get to learn magic today! Without another word I quickly got out of bed and put my robe on.

"Wow! You must be really hungry," Sora said. "I know I am!"

"I have no idea how you can be hungry after the massive amount of pudding you ingested last night."

"Very easily! Come on, Hayner and Tidus left ages ago."

"Alright, let's get going."

We headed down the stairs through the common room. It was even more brilliant in the daylight. I daydreamed about making Pete explode with my wand while staring out the window.

"Hey! Watch it!"

I was startled out of my reverie by that kid from earlier… the green one. Man he's short!

"Oh wow I'm sorry," I said. "Didn't see you there, I was thinking about stuff."

"Thinking about stuff… that's a great excuse," he huffed.

"No really!" Wow, I'm smooth. Making trouble before I even get to breakfast. "Umm… let me make it up to you. Come have breakfast with us!"

"Well… okay. But only if Kairi can come too."

"Yeah sure," I said. "The more the merrier!"

"She'll be down in just a- oh here she is! Now we can go."

I groaned inwardly. Great. It was the girl on the train who definitely thought Sora and I were gay lovers. Just my luck.

"Hey Jiminy! What's up?"

"Going to eat with these two. Wanna come?"

She looked at us and blushed. "Umm…"

Sora, sensing her discomfort but clearly not remembering why she should be uncomfortable, said, "Yeah, Kairi was it? You should definitely come sit with us!"

"Well, okay."

We awkwardly left the common room and went through the hole behind the portrait of the three fairies.

"To the Great Hall!" Sora exclaimed as we walked down the hall.

I went to turn the corner, but noticed that Sora was going straight. And Kairi had turned the other way. And Jiminy was just staring at us all, unsure where to go.

"Uh… does anyone know which way it is?" I asked.

"Of course! It's this way!" Sora and Kairi said in unison.

"Right… well then…flip a coin?"

They both stared at me like I was insane. Sora really had no idea what I was talking about and Kairi looked disgusted that I would doubt her.

"You know, heads or tails? Heads is Kairi and tails is Sora. Here." I pulled out a quarter I had found earlier.

"Oh my god is that muggle money?" Kairi exclaimed. "That is so cool, I come from a muggle family too!"

"Yeah, great," I said noncommittally. "Here goes." I flipped the coin up and it landed perfectly in the center of my palm. "Tails. We go straight."

"Alright," Kairi said, "But I'm telling you, mine is the right way."

"Well we're about to find out."

As we started walking, Kairi chattered away about herself. I really don't care that her parents are dentists. How is that something to brag about? I mean seriously, if she wasn't so cute…uh oh. She was looking at me expectantly. Did she ask me a question? Quick Riku! Noncommittal noise!

"Mmph."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" she frowned.

"He's Riku!" Sora interjected. "And I'm Sora! It is weird that we never told you our names, isn't it."

This seemed to satisfy her. Good. Now to distract her with whatever was through the next door.

"Dead end," I said. "It's locked."

"Hmm…" Kairi said. "Hang on, I've always wanted to try this."

She pulled out her wand and aimed it at the doorknob. She was just about to say something when a huge yawn erupted from the doorknob.

"Huh?" she said. "Look! It has a face and everything!"

"Woah!" I said. It did indeed have a face, a sleeping face that is.

"I better whisper then," Kairi said.

She then muttered something that I couldn't quite here, and the door swung open. We walked through and the door shut behind us.

"Hmm… I don't think this is the right way. It's too dark," I said. "Let's backtrack and take Kairi's way instead." When no one responded, I tried again: "You guys? Hello?"

I looked at their faces, confused. Jiminy's was completely blank, Sora's eyes were wider than the Grand Canyon, and Kairi looked petrified.

"There's something right behind me, isn't there." I stated.

Not waiting for a response, I turned around to look. Yup. Giant three headed dog that had been sleeping but was waking up and looking at us hungrily.

"Guys? I think now is when we run," I said, amazingly calm despite the giant fluffy blob in front of me.

That seemed to wake everyone up. We all turned and scrambled for the door, slamming it behind us. This woke up the doorknob, who was not at all pleased by the interruption.

It yawned and looked up at us with a very annoyed expression.

"The third floor corridor is off limits to all students. Goodnight," it said sternly before going straight back to sleep.

We all exchanged glances that pretty much conveyed what Sora decided to say out loud.

"Oops."

We silently backtracked and followed Kairi. She knew exactly where to go. We barely had time to grab a muffin before we were ushered off, schedules in hand. I looked down. Our first class was Herbology, which was apparently outside because that's where all the other new Simba's were going. We followed them into a large greenhouse where the teacher (that I know was introduced to us earlier but couldn't remember her name) stood. Good thing she figured that out.

"Welcome first years, I am Professor Marluxia."

Make that his name. The pink hair totally threw me off.

"Welcome to Herbology, the study of magical plants. Today we will be studying the toadstool. Very common to Wonderland, the toadstool…"

As he continued talking, I marveled over how much there was to know. Half of the references he made I had never even heard of. I listened in awe, up until the very last part.

"And for your homework, I would like an essay on the properties of the toadstool. I expect references from the lecture and the book."

Sora and I looked at each other, the same thing running through our minds. Homework? Great. I hadn't taken any notes! I looked over at Kairi and noticed she was closing a bright pink notebook with very neat, organized notes.

"Hey Kairi…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I could borrow your notes later?" I asked sheepishly.

"Sure! Just don't make a habit of not taking notes," she smiled.

"Absolutely!"

I am such a liar. But that's okay. I looked down at my schedule and frowned. Well, looks like I get to confront Zexion sooner rather than later. Potions with the Shan Yu's was next.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everyone! It's nice to have more review! Reviews encourage me to keep writing! So, in case you haven't heard, the Very Potter Sequel is out! Very amusing, but I don't think you can beat the first one… although Umbridge is the best! If you don't know what I am talking about, for shame. Look up A Very Potter Musical on YouTube when you have two hours. It's so worth it! And now that that little plug is out of the way… time for Potions! Heh heh heh… Remember- reviews make me happy

Chapter 10: Zexion the Potions Master plus Seifer the Super Annoying.

The walk down to the dungeons was much less eventful than the walk to breakfast. I mean, we only ran into a ghost or two. Nothing like the three headed monstrosity behind the talking doorknob. Although yesterday I would have freaked out about the ghosts, so I guess it's all perspective. There was this one really annoying one too. Kind of tubby. With a skeleton face, but a regular body otherwise. His name was Barrel or something. Anyways, he dumped my bag, which slightly confused me because I didn't know that ghosts could touch things, but whatever. It did make me the last one in the classroom though. And the only seat left was front and slightly to the left of center. You can guess where Kairi was sitting…

"Well well well, if it isn't the great Mr. Mikomi. Decided to grace us with your presence, have you? Take a seat," Zexion said.

If I had any misgivings about the feelings I had earlier, they were gone. This guy was bad news. And there went my scar. Always great to start off a class with an awkward twitch. The Shan Yu's all snickered very maturely. Seifer had the biggest smile on his face, like I had been placed there for his own personal amusement. I pretended nothing had happened and took the seat next to Kairi. But no, Zexion wasn't going to let it drop.

"Waltzing in late like you own the place, hmm? I don't like people who have big egos."

I was slightly disturbed by the way he leaned in when he said this. I couldn't quite see his expression under his bangs, but I knew that it wasn't friendly. And then Kairi had to open her big mouth.

"Umm, Riku wasn't late. He was just behind all of us and-"

At this point, Zexion pushed his bangs out of his eyes. And the glare that he gave to Kairi would rival… I can't even think of anything in the same league as that look. Kairi shrank to half her size, and she was already pretty small. With every inch she shrank, Seifer grew. Luckily, Zexion left it at the glare and continued.

"This class is not for the big-headed. In order to master the art of brewing potions, one must succumb to the elements, allow themselves to be caught up in the subtleties of using nirnroot instead of mulliweed, or stirring clockwise just once more. And then one must be able to think quickly in the face of imminent doom, combat poison, brew cures…"

Blah blah blah. Unimportant drivel. Great. Just what I need, a teacher who already hates me that I don't have a prayer of paying attention to. Definitely going to steal Kairi's notes again. Uh oh, he's looking at me.

"Tut, tut, Mr. Mikomi. First day and you already think you don't need to listen to me. Well then, ten points from Simba."

"Huh?"

"And another five for ignorance. Maybe one of your housemates will explain it to you later. Now, as I was saying-"

The rest of the class I paid rabid attention to Zexion. If he asked me anything, I would know it. But he didn't ask. And I almost instantly forgot it all the second I stood up to walk out of the classroom. Damn.

"Ah, Mr. Mikomi, might I have a word with you before you leave?"

The sickly sweet tone in Zexion's voice made me queasy. This wasn't going to be fun. Kairi patted my shoulder on her way by, and Sora, oblivious as always, smiled happily and bounced out the door with a wave. And then it was just him and me.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" I asked, sucking up as much as I could, hoping to get out quickly.

"You. You're wrong." And I thought he was praising subtlety. "You think that just because you're alive, people should adore you. You should have special rights. Well you shouldn't. But you just do take them anyways, just like your father you arrogant little-" he cleared his throat. "Hmm… that's enough for now. Watch yourself Mikomi."

I took that as a dismissal and bolted. He made no sense at all. And what did he mean about my father? Did he have some sort of grudge against him? If he did, I was screwed. It wouldn't matter what I did, all he would see is my father. Who I apparently resemble or something.

I ran so fast that I didn't even notice Seifer and his gang waiting outside the dungeons. Which just about made their day.

"Well here he is: Mikomi himself. Wow Riku, in with the teachers already? Zexion just seems to love you," he said with a grin. "What's next? Gonna sleep with Marluxia?"

"Shut it, Seifer." I was so not in the mood for this. Especially not from him.

"Oooh, tough guy. You hear that Fu? Rai? He thinks he's better than us. He thinks he can just order me to shut up!" This sounded way too much like what Zexion had just said. "We'll see about that. Riku Mikomi, I challenge you to a duel!"

"D-d-d-d-d-duel!" rang out from nowhere in a strange voice. I thought I caught a glimpse of a strange pyramid-shaped necklace. Weird.

"I accept."

Seifer looked surprised at this. Then he grinned. Evilly.

"Full moon. Midnight. Astronomy tower. Bring a second."

"You're on," I said confidently, despite the fact that I had no clue what the hell he was talking about.

We continued glaring at each other. I was so close to just punching him right then and there. And I would've too if Kairi hadn't come up just then.

"Riku! There you are! We have lunch now, come on!"

"Yeah Riku," Seifer mocked, "Follow your woman!"

Kairi blushed angrily. She was so overcome, she couldn't say anything; she could only stammer monosyllabic noises. I couldn't ignore that. I wouldn't ignore that. I moved to punch his smarmy little rat face. I didn't even touch him. Rai and Fu stepped in front of him faster than I could blink.

"Hmm, get your friends to act as bodyguards? Wow you must be scared if you have to take me on three against one. Later Almasy."

I decided to leave it at that. He looked pretty angry. Good.

Once we were out of earshot, Kairi began scolding me: "What do you think you were doing, starting a fight on the first day? Idiot!"

She smacked me and I reacted with a wince.

"And you agreed to a duel? Do you even know what a duel is?"

"Uhh…"

"That's what I thought! Stupid!"

She went to smack me again, but I grabbed her hand before it met my face. She pouted and I just sighed.

"So, what is a duel?"

"I shouldn't even tell you! The astronomy tower is off-limits, especially to first years! And after lights-out too!"

"Oh save the crap for someone who cares and just tell me."

Sora popped up out of nowhere, saying, "It's a magical fight to the death!"

"WHAT!" Kairi and I exclaimed in unison.

"Yup! Only neither of you know any spells that could really hurt the other, so it will probably just be a bunch of shooting sparks or something. I call second!"

"Second?" I queried.

"Second takes over if you die!"

Cheery thought. Well, at least someone already had a death wish for me. And my day was only half over…

The next class was kind of a blur of textbooks and introductions and rules. I barely remember anything from transfiguration with Queen Minnie. That's probably going to be a problem. Definitely stealing Kairi's notes. And figuring out some defensive magic. Even though I've never even cast a spell before. Hopefully, I would have something figured out by the full moon, which was in three weeks. Hopefully.

"Hey, Riku?" a short blonde girl with a black headband and a blue dress with a white apron attached stopped me in the hallway, disturbing my wallowing in self-pity. "Axel asked me to give this to you."

I took the note from her hand. One of the edges was singed. I thanked her and watched her walk over to WR who was doing hall duty or something of the sort. Whatever. I opened the note and smirked at the spelling:

Hey Riku! How'd the ferst day go? Prety awsum I bet. You shood com visit me befor diner. I wana show you something. –_Axel_

Wow, he really cannot spell. But who know? Maybe this something will help with my duel! To Axel's!

"Hey Riku!" Sora said, popping up in that not quite creepy but still not right sort of way that he does.

Or not.

"Hey, I'm going down to visit Axel."

"Cool!" Kairi said. "Can we come?"

"Yeah, I guess," I said, too apathetic to argue. I guess that's what happens when you have friends. They never leave you alone. Something I'll just have to get used to. But somehow, I don't think I will ever get used to Sora skipping across the lawn. Ever.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello all! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in so long, but there has been a lot of horrible things going on and it just wasn't possible for me to even think about updating. Hopefully I'll be able to get back on track now, but we'll see. But don't worry! I haven't given up!

Chapter 11- Axel's House

Once all of my classes were over, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. For a very very long time. I barely understood half of what was going on! I trudged back to the common room, envisioning my nice soft bed. Unfortunately, I had forgotten one little thing…

"RIKU!" Sora tackled me before I even reached the stairs. "I'm so ready to have dinner with Axel! Let's get Kairi and go!"

"Ergh..." was the only noise I could manage with the bouncing brunette squashing my vocal chords.

He gave me a puzzled look, not understanding that he was suffocating me. I began pushing him off. He was surprisingly heavy for his size. I started seeing stars and probably wouldn't have passed out if it weren't for the shriek. Sora heard it and it made him jump, thankfully right off of my windpipe. The source of the shriek was none other than Kairi.

"Umm…" she said, red-faced, you guys probably shouldn't be doing that down here. I mean, it's not like your bedroom isn't right upstairs and all."

I groaned. Great, another incident concerning her suspicions. And of course, Sora was oblivious as always.

"I will tackle Riku wherever I want! That's what best friends do!" he said with a grin.

"Right, best friends. Got it," she said with a knowing smile. "Anyways, shouldn't we be going?"

"Of course!" I remarked, happy to change the subject. "Let's go!"

We followed Kairi's route this time, with no detours. She already seemed to know the place like the back of her hand. When I mentioned it, she told me it was from all of the reading she had done before school, especially in Hollow Bastion: A History. Wow, the more she spoke, the less attracted I was to her. Although she was still pretty hot.

The grounds were beautiful, and I would have said so if it wouldn't have made me sound fruitier than Kairi thinks I am. But really, I had never seen so much green. The statues seemed almost alive in their detail and the weather was nice. A little cloudy, but nice. Kairi and I lapsed into silence, appreciating the landscaping, while Sora chattered away about some Queerditch team or something. Honestly, I would've listened, except I had no idea what Kwidwitch was. Cuidatch? Aw, who cares.

We found Axel's house pretty easily. It was a stone cottage that looked like it had been through the works. There were strange glowing stains on the walls, and deep claw marks had gouged the shutters at one point. And the door looked like something had tried to take a bite out of it at one point, but found it unappetizing when it tasted it. Not really the best first impression for Kairi; the girl's eyes were getting wider by the minute.

As we gingerly approached the door, it swung open with a boom, revealing Axel in a slightly singed robe. "Riku! I umm… see you brought friends. Would you mind if they waited out here for a minute, dinner's not quite ready and you know what they say about too many cooks in a kitchen!"

"They ruin the broth," Kairi answered smugly.

"They ruin the sloth," Sora said at the same time, confused at Kairi's statement.

"Why on earth would too many cooks ruin a sloth?" Kairi asked, clearly convinced Sora had a screw or two loose.

"Well duh! Sloth is the key ingredient for-"

Axel shut the door on them, leaving them to argue as he ushered me away from the door.

"I didn't know you were going to bring people. I have to hide it, but how?"

I was very confused by all these mutterings, so I asked, "Hide what?"

"Hide what? I said specifically in that note that I wanted to show you something! You! Not every student in the castle! Here it is," he grumbled, gesturing towards his fireplace.

I leaned in, unsure what to make of the large purple stone sputtering over the coals. I jumped back when it wobbled.

"It's a special egg," Axel whispered, rubbing his hands together in delight, "I can't wait to see what hatches out of it. Probably something quite ferocious that breathes fire," he said with girlish glee. No, seriously, I had seen that same expression on Kairi's face when she first saw the library.

"Uhh… Axel, what are you going to do once it hatches?"

"Raise it of course! Train it to be my own personal pet! Oh, what fun we'll have…"

"And why can't we tell the others?"

"Well, err, it's not entirely, um, legal to own this kind of pet…"

"Axel! Kairi is such a narc, we can't let her see it! We'll have to have a picnic or something."

"Brilliant idea! Let's just grab some of the food…"

We heaped whatever it was that Axel had made into a giant basket and he grabbed a blanket made out of some material I had never seen. It shimmered and wavered, grabbing my attention. I made a mental note to ask him about it later. We opened the door back onto Sora and Kairi, who had not stopped arguing.

"But you don't use sloth in making Hi-Potions," Kairi was saying.

"Food's ready!" Axel declared, not caring one bit about what they were saying. "Let's eat!"

He spread the blanket on the ground and we put the basket on top of it. We all sat down as Axel began passing around what I suppose was meant to be edible. Everything looked like it had been charred in the making, even the fruit!

"What interesting recipes," Kairi said with a false smile, feigning politeness.

"Family secret," Axel grumbled.

The actual ingesting of the food was uneventful, although my stomach was warning me that events would be occurring a little faster than I would like soon. In fact, it would have gone seamlessly if it weren't for one tiny detail…

"Oh my God!" Kairi exclaimed, "The blanket, it vanished!"

The four of us looked down. Sure enough, we could see the grass and there was no trace of the blanket we had all sat down on.

"Blasted cloak!" Axel grumbled.

I touched the ground gingerly, wondering if I would vanish too. Surprisingly, I still felt the silky fabric against my skin. The blanket hadn't vanished, it was-"

"IT'S INVISIBLE!" Sora exclaimed, stealing my thunder.

"Was this what you wanted to show Riku," Kairi asked Axel once the initial shock wore off.

"YES. I mean, uh, yes it was. It's funny you should mention it actually; King Mickey told me I should pass this along to you, Riku. I'd almost forgotten, heh heh."

I looked at him quizzically as we all stood up. He nodded, confirming that he wasn't just lying to cover his ass. I gripped the blanket, or cloak I suppose, and lifted it up. It became visible again, the threads sparkling in the dim light. Wait, dim light? Oh crap, we were going to miss curfew. As soon as I mentioned this, we all scrambled to gather Axel's things together. Before either Axel or I noticed, Kairi had barged into the cottage to put the dishes away. Axel and I simultaneously face palmed as I heard what was beginning to be a familiar noise: Kairi shrieking.

"That…that's a hydra egg! Those are beyond illegal!" she exclaimed as we rushed in behind her.

"Uhh…" Axel was at a loss for words.

"Kairi, you can't tell anyone!" I urged. "It's a top secret project that Axel isn't allowed to talk about! Very secret and important."

I had struck the right tone apparently. Her eyes lit up at the thought of such a thing.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't tell a soul! But surely Axel is only holding onto it for a little while before it goes somewhere like a sanctuary, right?"

Axel sighed and said, "Of course it is. It just has to hatch first and then-"

Before Axel could finish his lie, a large cracking sound filled the air. Looks like we wouldn't be waiting for it to hatch…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Baby Hydra

The four of us turned to the fireplace wordlessly. A large crack ran from the very top of the egg down to the base. Another resounding crack filled the air and a chunk of the shell flew off and hit Sora square on his nose.

"Ow ow ow ow! Hot hot hot!"

He hopped around, as if that would help his nose, and ran to the bucket of water next to the fireplace. He stuck his head in it and sighed with relief.

"Sora, that was quite possibly the stupidest thing you could have done," Axel said in a deathly monotone voice.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"That isn't water," Kairi exclaimed, having to be the know-it-all, "That's baby monster formula! And what do you think is about to come out of that egg?"

Sora's eyes grew like saucers. He nervously edged away from the egg, unsure where to go.

"Well you can't go back to the castle, they'll ask why you were late for curfew, and you certainly can't tell them that!" Axel growled.

"I'll just…wait outside?" Sora guessed?

"Yeah, outside on the edge of the Deep Jungle filled with creatures far worse than this one who are just as hungry," Axel mocked.

"Well what am I supposed to do!" Sora groaned.

"I know!" exclaimed Kairi.

"Of course you do…" Axel and I mumbled in unison.

"What was that?" she asked. We shrugged and she moved back to her idea: "What do hydra's hate more than anything else?"

"Is this a riddle?" Sora asked.

"No! Honestly, if you had read ahead at all in our book for-"

"Kairi, just cut to the chase here," I said nervously as another piece of shell fell to the floor.

"Fine, fine," she pouted. I could tell she wanted more of a flourish, but there wasn't time. "Hydras hate wind."

A large piece of the egg fell and made Sora jump as he said, "And how is that supposed to help me? It's not windy!"

"Are you a wizard or aren't you?" Kairi exclaimed, exasperated. "Aero!"

With a wave of her wand, a miniature tornado appeared around Sora. He fell over in amazement, whipping the contents of Axel's hut around in his clumsiness. His spiky hair shot straight up in the breeze.

"Well that should do it then," he said in a shocked monotone voice.

"And just in time too!" Axel said excitedly. "Look at the little beauty!"

We turned back to the fireplace, having almost forgotten the hydra in the wake of Kairi's spell. True enough, the newborn had tumbled out of the fireplace and lay sprawled on Axel's rug. It let out a yawn, and then another and another. With a shock, I realized that it had three heads. As it moved around for the first time, the mucus membrane snapped and splattered. Axel, showing uncharacteristic affection, scooped up the creature and held it gently but firmly.

"Aww, what a cute little thing," said Kairi, much to the chagrin of the males in the room.

"It's not cute, it's ferocious!" said Axel defensively, holding it closer.

"What are you going to do with a hydra?" asked Kairi. "They grow so fast, you'll never be able to keep it a secret for long!"

"Yeah, my brother Xigbar works with hydras sometimes, and there is no way people aren't going to notice after like a month," Sora remarked. "What?" he asked when Kairi gave him a look. "I can't be smart sometimes too?"

"No…" Kairi and I said in unison as Sora pouted.

"It's getting a bit dark, and I have some nursing…er I mean care taking to do," Axel said. "You should hurry back before you get in trouble."

"Oh dear, we can't get in trouble on the first day!" Kairi exclaimed.

I sighed. Goody two shoes strikes again.

"Good to see you, Axel. We'll come back at a more…appropriate time," I said.

The three of us hurried out, eager to avoid the baby hydra.

"Well, he seems… interesting," Kairi said, trying to be polite.

"Are you kidding? He has a hydra! He's awesome!" shouted Sora, happy-go-lucky once more with the imminent threat of being a hydra's first meal gone.

"Shh! Do you want to get him in trouble!" I hissed angrily. "Hydra equals secret, Sora's mouth equals closed!"

"I'm not really good at math…" Sora said. "Ouch! What was that for?"

My hand stung slightly from where I had punched his stomach. I left his question without an answer and began walking back towards the castle.

"Wait, Riku!" Kairi called, "the cloak!"

Oops. Yeah, I wouldn't want to forget that. Questions came rushing into my head. Why did Axel have it? Why would the king want me to have it? And where in the world did Axel get an illegal hydra egg? I resolved my mind. The next thing I would do would be to meet with King Mickey and sort this all out. I picked up the cloak and threw it over my shoulders.

"Riku?"

Oh right… they couldn't see me when I wore it.

"Come on under you guys, we don't want to get in trouble for being out late," I sighed.

We trudged silently back to the castle, our minds buzzing with questions.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey gang! So I know this chapter is a bit not so much fun, which is why the last one was short and I am updating so soon. But don't worry! The action returns in the next chapter! Plus, I am giving hints on who Riku's mother is! Yes, there is a reason you don't know yet, but it's mostly my own fiendish enjoyment. That, and I know some people probably won't get it at first (you have no idea how hard it is to make a match for Sephiroth out of the people that I hadn't already designated characters for), so I have to introduce it slowly. Also, I would like to remind people that the characters in this story who appear in both KH and FF are all based off of their Kingdom Hearts personas, not Final Fantasy. Just so we're all clear here. Enjoy!

Ch 13- King Mickey

I groaned and rolled over onto something squishy. In my sleep-filled brain, I thought it would be a good idea to poke it rather than open my eyes to see what it was. It was not.

"Nyah! Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!"

I opened my eyes to find an irate Kairi, hands clasped over her chest. Oh crap.

"Ahh! Uhh… meh…buh…." I had no answer, so I changed the subject. "What are we doing down here?"

"Don't you remember? We went to Axel's and then we were talking and then we fell asleep in the common room!" Sora said from behind me, bouncing over. "And you were going to go talk with King Mickey today 'cause of that note!"

The memory rushed back to me. Flounder had delivered a note to my bedroom while we had been at Axel's, summoning me to the King's office this morning. I stood up with sudden wakefulness at this thought.

"I've gotta go get dressed!" I exclaimed.

Running up to my room, I threw on the cleanest looking pair of robes I had and dragged a comb through my hair. Messy as always. On my way out the door, I paused for a second and then grabbed the bag that I had put the cloak into the night before.

I skidded into the common room, almost making it out before Kairi grabbed the back of my robe and said, "Wait, do you even know where the King's office is?"

I stopped and thought: "No…"

"Then you had better let me show you."

"Ooh, field trip!" Sora exclaimed.

Without any word from me, the two of them exited the common room and I followed. Who's meeting was this again? Oh well…

Kairi led the way, taking so many twists and turns that I was sure she was just making it up as she went. But apparently, she wasn't. We soon came upon a tall set of doors that seemed to reach into infinity.

"Well, this is where we leave you. Good luck!" said Kairi as she walked away with Sora in tow.

"Yeah, thanks," I said, suddenly realizing how nervous I was to be meeting King Mickey.

I swallowed and reached for the doorknob, which even for me was far out of reach. I frowned and looked around for a stepstool or something. The King is much shorter than me, so he has to get in somehow. Unable to find a means of getting in, I reached into my bag and looked at the note he had sent me to see if I had missed something. A breeze from a nearby window snatched the piece of parchment out of my hand and blew it into the door. Something clicked and a glowing outline of a much smaller door appeared and swung open, revealing a large open room. There was a velvet pathway leading to a throne on the other end. I was relieved to see that the throne was empty, but wondered where the King was. As if he read my mind, the King appeared from a staircase beside the throne. As he walked towards me, the staircase was covered by marble, almost as if it wasn't even there.

"Hello there, Riku," he said, "How did your first day go?"

I reflected back on the classes, the comments, Seifer, Axel, the hydra… "Oh, pretty good I guess," I said, choosing the less complicated answer.

"Good, good," he said, as if that was exactly what he expected to hear. "I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you here."

"Actually, your majesty, I was wondering about quite a few other things too."

"All in good time. I know it will be frustrating, but I ask that you wait to ask questions until I am done with my little speech. It shouldn't take too long." I nodded my assent and he continued: "As I am sure you have already noticed, you have quite a bit of fame in the wizarding world. And with fame comes instant friends and instant enemies. I am sure you have already met those who would be friends simply because of the name you bear, and those who would hate you for the very same reason. I just wanted you to know that I am here for you if you ever need to talk about something."

I was shocked. Here, King Mickey, pretty much the most powerful wizard alive, was offering himself to me as a mentor.

"Wow, I… thank you," I said.

"And as for the cloak," he said, "It was your father's. I borrowed it from him and never had the chance to return it. I believe it is yours now."

The cloak took on a whole new wonder for me. My father's? And he was close enough with the King to let him borrow it? That must be why he was helping me; he knew my father.

"Now I don't really have a lot of time, but I can answer one question for you," he said.

Even though I had had millions of questions whirring in my skull, there was only one that I could ask now: "What was my father like?"

If the king was surprised by my question, he didn't show it. "Sephiroth…he was a very strong man, both inside and out. He had very firm morals and always stood by them." King Mickey's mouth widened in a smile as he said, "And he was very in love with your mother. He admired her strength of heart, even when she wasn't quite ready to love him back yet. He persisted, writing some awful poetry about her hair, calling her his fiery swan. It was quite out of character, really. But I suppose everyone has their own secrets…" He trailed off for a moment, lost in thought, "But then again, that was the only time he ever showed that side. He was… hard around everyone else. A man with a mission who wouldn't let you forget it. He fought so hard against Xemnas…"

The king seemed lost in thought…again. I was about to remind him that I was still there when Queen Minnie burst into the room.

"Mickey, we have a problem with- oh hello there Riku. If you don't mind, I need to speak with the King in private."

"Of course, ma'am," I said.

I left the room, some of my questions answered, but only replaced by new ones. Sighing, I turned to go to the common room. I was startled out of my reverie by a realization: I had no idea where the hell I was in the castle. Great… I picked a random direction and started walking, hoping for the best.


End file.
